Pink Life
by oswaldspink
Summary: A series of separate one shots of Clara Oswald and Danny Pink's life together with changing AUs. Will they always be happy? Or will something stop them in their tracks?
1. Chapter 1- Home

**Hiya, so I'm not 100% sure what to call this but it's going to be a collection of unrelated one shots of Danny and Clara's lives. They will change AU as well :) I'm happy to take any prompts or suggestions too! I hope you enjoy!x**

 **\+ be sure to check out my other fic 'comfort'!**

Home

The last letter. The last letter until she could see him again. She held it in her hands, slightly nervous to open it although she didn't have a reason to be. She sat on the sofa and ripped open the seal. She couldn't help but laugh when she saw his scruffy handwriting and a few doodles on the paper. It reminded her so much of him. She read it slowly, savouring every word. It wasn't until she got to the bottom that she gasped a little. There was a phone number written neatly ready to be called. Danny had been moving camps so much the last months that he hadn't been able to leave a number to speak to her from. Now that there finally was one she couldn't contain her excitement.

She jumped up and grabbed her phone. She dialled it as fast as she could, her heart thumping in her chest. She had waited so long to hear his voice. It felt like years as the phone rang on the other end. Suddenly the sound changed leaving silence and then the sound of Danny moving around.

"Hello?" She smiled uncontrollably.

"Hello." She imagined him smiling at her voice.

"The number worked then." Clara laughed, tears starting to fall down her cheeks in happiness.

"Yes, it did." He laughed and sighed.

"Oh god, I haven't got you crying already have I?" She giggled and wiped her eyes.

"Sorry, it's just, I've waited so long to speak to you."

"I know, sorry it's been ages." She shook her head.

"That's not your fault. At least we can speak now. That's what matters."

"Well you'll be able to see me face to face soon." She grinned at that, neither of them could wait until he came home. It had been a long 6 months.

"I can't wait. Another month to go. I don't want to wait that long." Danny laughed a little.

"Would it make you happy to hear that you're only going to have to wait another 3 days then?" She gasped with shock and excitement.

"What!? Danny?!" He laughed.

"I've been allowed home early. I leave camp tomorrow." She began to cry again.

"Oh my gosh, that's so great!" They both smiled.

"So, Sunday morning, Gatwick airport, gate 11. I expect to see you there."

"You try and stop me." They both laughed.

"Okay I've got to go now, leaving party is getting going." She smiled.

"Okay, have fun."

"Clara Oswald, I love you more than anything. Don't ever forget that. I'll see you soon." She grinned.

"I love you too." He hung up leaving her frozen where she was sat. She was overcome with a feeling of happiness and excitement. The next 3 days couldn't go fast enough.

By Sunday she hadn't slept a wink. How she was functioning she didn't know. A mixture of caffeine and adrenaline was making up from the lack of sleep. Makeup was her answer to the bags under her eyes. She got in the car and began to drive to the airport as slowly as she could make herself. Despite this, she still arrived 45 minutes early. She must have had at least 3 hot chocolates whilst she was waiting. It felt like hours. She wanted nothing more than to feel his touch and be able to hold him. It had been too long since they had been able to do that.

Soon Danny's flight was called in so she walked down slowly knowing that he would be last off of the plane. Typical Danny. Once she got to the gate she stood with anticipation. Her heart rate shot up every time she saw a person come through the door and then it dropped when it wasn't Danny. She twiddled her thumbs to pass the time but stopped with a start when she saw him turn the corner and look intently for her. He came through the door and slowed down a little bit in shock. He couldn't believe that he was actually home. Actually seeing Clara after all of this time. She watched him, tears falling down her cheeks. They started to run towards each other and then they met in each other's arms. He picked her up and spun her around.

"Oh my god." She cried into his shoulder. They continued to hug each other.

"I love you so much." He pulled away, tears falling down his cheeks now as well, and kissed her deeply. She kissed him again and then smiled up at him. "You're so beautiful." She laughed a little and kissed him again.

"I missed you so much." He nodded and smiled.

"I missed you too. I've been waiting for this day for so so long." They hugged again. Clara rested her head on his shoulder. She could smell the dust and ash on his uniform as clear as day. He still even had some in his hair. It felt so surreal that he was actually home. One second he was in Afghanistan and the next he was in her arms back in England. Clara wiped her tears and held out her hand.

"Would you like me to take you home?" He grinned and laughed.

"Yes please, I'd love that." He took her hand, kissed her head and picked up his bag. They headed off to the car in each other's grasp.

When they got into the car Danny sighed and smiled.

"This doesn't feel real. It really doesn't." She smiled back at him.

"I guess it's a little quieter here?" He nodded.

"You can say that again. I can sit here long enough to gather my thoughts before being shot at..." His head dipped a little and his eyes filled with tears. Clara placed an arm on his shoulder. He looked back up and rubbed his eyes. "Sorry, let's not talk about that now." Clara smiled, getting the hint that now wasn't the time to ask any further. "How have you been? Any news?" She started the car engine and they spent the whole journey immersed in chatter and laughter just like old times.

They arrived on the driveway. Clara switched off the engine but didn't move to get out of the car.

"I kinda don't have a welcome home present yet as it was all short notice and I didn't know you'd be home so soon." He smiled.

"That's fine. I don't need a present. I've got you." She smiled and kissed him softly. She leant back but kept her hand on his chest so that their foreheads nearly touched.

"So how does a takeaway and a movie sound?" His eyes lit up in happiness.

"You have no idea how good that sounds." They kissed again and then went inside.

Their evening was perfect, quiet but perfect. Clara laid with her head on Danny's chest, their hands touching gently. After a while she looked up at him. He smiled.

"You okay?" She nodded and sat up.

"Are you going back again?" He frowned.

"What do you mean?" She put her hand on his shoulder.

"To Afghan I mean. Are you going back out again?" He moved a little closer to her.

"I don't know? I guess so. Why?" She sighed and looked into his eyes.

"Don't go again. Please don't go." He pushed her hair back behind her ear and looked at her with confusion. He had been away so many times now and she had never been like this when he came home. It worried him slightly. "I don't want you to go again. I missed you so much this time. I don't want to have to stay here on my own without you." He put his hand on her cheek.

"What's brought this on?" She sighed.

"I don't know I just, I really don't want to have to watch you go and not be able to see you everyday for another 6 months. I don't think I could bare it." He smiled a little and kissed her head. "I know you've only just got back but time will go so fast and then you'll be gone again. It's been so lonely here on my own. I want to be with you and move on with our lives together. Everything is on hold when you're away." He sighed and kissed her head.

"I can take leave you know. If I knew it was upsetting you... You could have told me." She nodded.

"I know but it didn't seem appropriate whilst you were gone." He smiled.

"If you want I'll take leave for next year. We can organise it. Sort it all out. I didn't know that it upset you, I'm sorry-" She shook her head, realising that the way she had said it made him feel guilty.

"No it's not your fault. You love the army. I wouldn't force you to have a break if you don't want to. It's just that it feels like such a long time when you're gone and for a while I took it for what it was. I accepted it and carried on living. But this time it didn't feel right to live my life without you here. I love you and I don't want to be away from you for any longer. I can't bare it." A few tears had started to fall down her cheeks as she spoke. He wiped them away and kissed her head.

"Come here." He hugged her close. "I do love the army but leaving you is the worst part of it. I'll take a year off. We can be together." She went to speak again but he stopped her. "I want to to make you happy. And as you said, we can move on our lives." She smiled and wiped her tears away.

"You're sure?" He nodded.

"Absolutely sure. It's fine." She kissed him softly. He pulled away a little. "When you say 'move on with our lives', what are you meaning by that?" She went a little quiet and her cheeks flushed a shade of red.

"I, I don't..." He laughed and let her lay into him.

"Patience, patience. I'll pop the question one day." She looked up and laughed. She then noticed that his face was serious.

"Wait are you actually-" He nodded.

"Well I've had a lot of time to think while I've been away. You'll just have to see what I've got up my sleeve." He winked as she grinned in slight surprise.

"You've got me worrying now." He chuckled.

"Well you're getting no hints from me." She pulled a sad face and kissed him again.

"I'm going to make it special. Because that's the least you deserve." She smiled and let him kiss her.

"I'll look forward to it." She moved to lay more on top of him and then kissed him softly, pushing him back onto the sofa as she did. He held her in his arms and broke away from the kiss.

"Upstairs?" She smiled seductively and nodded.

The next morning Danny woke up slowly and smiled down at Clara who was sleeping peacefully next to him. He loved seeing her so calm, so blissful. It wasn't long until she started to wake up too. Her eyes opened slowly to see Danny smiling at her. She yawned and stretched before smiling back at him.

"How long have you been awake?" She moved closer to him.

"A while. There was no need to wake you up early." She nodded and rested her head on his chest.

"That was the best night sleep I've had in so long. Once we got to sleep." She winked at him making him smile.

"You and me both. This bed feels so much more comfortable than I remember." She laughed.

"It's been a long time since you've been in it." He nodded and kissed her head. She looked sat up on her elbow and pushed her hair behind her ears. She looked at him with a gentle smile on her face. "You're home now and I think that needs celebrating. Can we do something today?" He nodded.

"What did you have in mind?" She shrugged.

"Meal? Walk down by the canal? Movie?" He pulled her closer.

"How about a walk down the canal and a meal?" She grinned.

"Ooh we are pushing the boat out." He laughed and kissed her softly.

"I think we've earned it." She kissed him again.

Later on that day Clara headed upstairs for a shower and to get ready. Once she had finished showering she walked out into the bedroom and jumped slightly when she saw Danny sat on the bed looking at her.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were up here." He laughed.

"That's okay, I'll grab a shower once you're finished." She nodded.

"But first, which dress should I wear? Your choice." He smiled and stood up to stand by her side. He took a quick look in her wardrobe and then picked one out. It was red and sat just above knee length. Clara smiled but with hesitation.

"Maybe a little too much boob on show?" He looked at it again realising what she meant.

"It's hot outside though. So it's not like you'll look out of place." She nodded in agreement. "And, I mean, I'm not complaining..." She hit his chest and grinned.

"Cheeky." He kissed her softly. She then pulled away. "Go on, shower. Or we'll never get anywhere." They laughed.

Clara came down the stairs once she was ready to go. Danny stood up and walked towards her.

"You look... Beautiful." He said with pure admiration in his eyes.

"Thank you. And, I'm all yours." She smiled and he kissed her softly.

"Let's go. Walk then meal?" He nodded.

"We can catch the sunset."

They drove the short distance to the town where they began to stroll along the canal. The warmth of the day was still slightly present making the air a perfect temperature. The flowers bloomed in the setting sun and the blue sky reflected off of the clear water. It was beautiful, truly beautiful.

They walked hand in hand not saying a word. They didn't need to. The serenity of the evening said it all. Soon they got to a bench which was nicely enclosed from the pathway by the draping branches of trees. Danny sat her down and smiled.

"This is perfect." She said quietly as she picked up his hand.

"It is, it's just perfect..." His heart started to beat faster in his chest. He could feel his hands shaking a little. What he was about to do next felt so right yet so wrong. He loved Clara and wanted nothing more than to do it but he just wanted it to live up to everything she had possibly imagined. She picked up on his nervousness quickly.

"What's wrong?" He shook his head.

"Nothing, nothing at all." He took a deep breath. "Well there is one thing... I want to say something. This may sound a little crazy but I'm just gonna go for it..." She nodded, a little confused. He smiled and picked up her hands. "Clara, I love you more than anything in this whole world. I never knew what it felt like to fall so deeply in love with someone until I met you. While I've been away I've had a lot of time to think about things. Not being with you for so long, it's made me realise that there's no one I'd like to spend the rest of my life with more than you. You make me smile. You make me laugh. You console me when I'm upset. Frankly, I don't know what I'd do without you. And I don't want to know." Tears had began to pool in her eyes. "So, Clara Oswald. Make me the happiest man alive. Will you marry me?" She looked at him in surprise. "I know it's a bit of shock as I said that I'd plan it all and make it amazing but seeing you tonight, seeing how beautiful you are, I just couldn't wait." She smiled and kissed him deeply. He pulled away and grinned. "Is that a yes then?" She laughed a little.

"Of course it's a god damn yes." They kissed again.

"Oh sorry but I kinda haven't got a ring yet... What with just coming home and-" She stopped him.

"Danny it's fine. This is perfect. I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed her and held her within his grasp. "Now I'll take you for that meal." She grinned and nodded. They walked back down the canal hand in hand.

The restaurant was quiet and peaceful, perfect for what Danny and Clara wanted. They were shown to their table where they sat happily. They ordered and had a lovely meal whilst chatting the whole way through. Clara spoke softly to him as they were finishing their wine.

"So what made you propose tonight then?" He smiled.

"I just really really couldn't wait to do it. I know we both wanted it so much and as we were coming out tonight it seemed fitting." She smiled back and held his hand. "I know it wasn't all fancy but I didn't think you'd want that really. I know you hate being centre of attention. Hence why I did it by the canal and not in here." They both laughed.

"Good choice." She winked at him. "Thank you Danny." He frowned.

"What for?"

"Just for everything. I haven't really said it yet. Thank you for thinking about the army and maybe taking leave, for listening to me I mean. You didn't have to." He sighed.

"If taking leave is what will make you happy then of course I have to. Anyway, it will be good to have a break. I've been thinking about it and it's the right thing to do." She smiled.

"You're sure?" He nodded.

"100%. Now stop worrying about it." He kissed her hand making her smile. "Shall we head home?" She nodded. He stood up and picked up her coat for her before allowing her to lead the way out of the doors.

They spent the rest of the evening laying on the sofa happily. Whilst being there both Clara and Danny realised that there was nowhere they'd rather be. Danny loved the army, he really did. And this time so much had happened out there that he wished he had never seen. But being at home with Clara made it all go away. She really was the only person who could make him feel that happy. He was beyond grateful for that.

 **Well there's number one of these one shot thingys (not sure what to call them :)) Please leave some reviews or suggestions if you like! Thank you for reading, there are plenty more to come!x**


	2. Chapter 2- Babies and Aliens

**Slightly shorter chapter but the Doctor has come to visit! As requested by Grace :) enjoy x**

Babies and aliens

If it wasn't for the sleepless nights Clara would be feeling fine. She loved having a baby, she really did. But getting up and feeding every two hours was getting exhausting. Danny had popped out to the shops for the essentials leaving Clara alone. She had hoped to get a little more sleep but that obviously didn't match what little Ellie wanted to do. As soon as Clara sat down she began to scream and cry again. Clara picked her up and rocked her gently. She sat on the bed to feed her but it wasn't long until she started to cry again. In a last attempt to settle her Clara changed her nappy. No luck. She picked her up and rocked her in her arms. She screamed and screamed. It was at that moment that Clara just broke down. She walked around the room trying to rock Ellie whilst sobbing a little herself.

"Shh, shh, please. Go to sleep. Good girl. Stop crying." It broke Clara's heart to hear her little girl scream like that. On top of her exhaustion her emotions had spiralled out of control.

It wasn't long until Danny came back. He put the shopping down and then headed upstairs to see what all the noise was. When he saw Clara's state he ran to her side.

"Hey hey what's happened? What's wrong?" She looked up at him with tear stained cheeks.

"She won't stop Danny. I can't stop her." He sighed and kissed her head.

"It's okay, it's okay. Pass her here." Clara did so and then went and sat on the bed again. Danny rocked Ellie side to side and, after a while, she calmed and fell to sleep in his arms. He sat down next to Clara and laid Ellie down in between them. This time, she didn't even stir. "Come here." He pulled her into a hug and let her cry into his shoulder. "It's normal to feel overwhelmed you know. It's okay to say that you need a bit of help or a little break. You've done so so well. You've had little to no sleep and you're still being absolutely amazing." She wiped her eyes.

"But I couldn't stop her crying today. Why couldn't I help?" He placed his hand on her chin to make her look at him.

"That's just one time. Sometimes she'll cry more or she'll not want to stop but that doesn't mean that you've failed. You've done so so well every other time. This is just a little set back." She nodded and wiped her eyes again, the tears not wanting to stop. "Come here." He hugged her close and kissed her head. "I'm so so proud of you." She smiled a little. She kissed him and then looked down at Ellie finally sleeping calmly.

"She's so beautiful." Danny smiled and stroked one of her tiny arms.

"She is. She's beyond beautiful. We're very lucky indeed." Clara nodded and laughed a little when she moved in her sleep.

"I can't believe she's 3 months old already."

"I know, where has the time gone." They laid there happily for a while longer. As soon as Ellie has gone quiet Clara calmed down. After speaking to Danny she felt so much better.

Later on Clara headed downstairs with Ellie in her arms. As she walked through to the living room she found her head turning back to look at where she had just come from. The familiar whirring noise that she always loved faded into the hallway.

"Danny." She called out before the Doctor popped his head out of the doors. Danny came running down to her side.

"What's wrong?!" She smiled.

"It's okay, we're fine. But look." He looked up at the TARDIS and sighed a little.

"Here we go." The Doctor opened the door and walked out.

"Hello." Danny smiled a little.

"Hello Doctor." He looked at him hesitantly.

"Am I okay to park here?" Danny nodded.

"Yes that's fine." The Doctor nodded and then stood there awkwardly waiting for someone else to say something. Instead, Ellie started to cry. Clara moved her in her arms. The Doctor looked down with surprise, having not noticed the tiny little girl that Clara was holding.

"You've... There's another person?" Clara couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Yeah, things have changed quite a bit. This is Ellie." The Doctor didn't smile, he just looked at her crying in Clara's arms a little hesitantly.

"Umm, how old is she?"

"Three months." He nodded slowly. Clara noticed his discomfort so offered him in. "Come and sit down. It's been a while, what have you been up to?" He did so and then sighed.

"Bits and bobs. I did mean to come and see you but, you know, things got in the way." Clara nodded.

"That's alright. I should have called you really. I know it's a bit of a shock, things are quite different now." Danny came back in with the tea and coffee Clara had sent him for and sat down next to Clara. There was another awkward pause.

"How are you PE?" Danny smiled a little at the nickname, it was never going to wear off.

"I'm good thank you. Yeah, I'm good, and you?" The Doctor nodded.

"Yeah, I was just saying to Clara that I had meant to pop in but I didn't get round to it." Danny smiled.

"That's okay, you're welcome any time though, if you want to pop in more often." He smiled at that. As he did Ellie began to cry even more making Clara sigh.

"I best go and feed her, I'll be right back." Danny smiled, yet silently cursed in his head. Her going left the Doctor and himself sat together alone. The only thing they had ever done when alone was argue so it didn't exactly set high spirits. Neither of them could think of what to say either. Eventually Danny sat forwards and attempted at a conversation.

"So what do you think of Ellie then?" The Doctor hesitated again.

"She's sweet, spitting image of you and Clara." Danny smiled.

"Thank you. It's been a big adjustment but I think we've coped okay really."

"Yeah, I think you have." The conversation died down making Danny cringe a little. He hated awkward silences. But to his relief Clara walked back in with Ellie asleep in her arms.

"She's gone off now so we can get some peace!" Danny smiled. The Doctor looked over at Ellie and smiled a tiny bit. Clara noticed this and frowned.

"Do you want to hold her? Now that she's not crying I mean." He shook his head.

"Oh no no, I'm okay, I'm fine." Clara smiled and nodded. She could tell something was up but he wasn't going to say what it was sat there. "Fancy going for a walk Doctor?" He nodded. Clara then looked to Danny. "Can you take her for a bit. We won't be long." She winked at him so that he knew it was nothing personal and then kissed him quickly.

They got out on to the street and the Doctor stared at the floor whilst walking beside Clara.

"Doctor, are you okay?" He nodded.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you're being all quiet and secretive. It's okay to be a little shocked by the baby and all that. I don't blame you for not expecting it." He nodded again.

"No it's fine. I get it." She frowned.

"You get it?" He looked up.

"I mean I get that you won't want to travel anymore because you have a family. But that's okay. I don't mind." She sighed and shook her head.

"That's clearly not true." He looked at her.

"Well what do you expect me to say?" She shrugged.

"I just mean that it's alright to say that you miss it because I do too. It's different now but that doesn't mean that you can't wish that we still could." He nodded.

"Okay I do miss it. But I accept that you've moved on."

"It's not about moving on though, things have happened but you're still just as welcome here as ever. Just because I don't come running away from Daleks on Skaro anymore that doesn't mean that we can't still be friends and support each other." He went quiet at that. "I saw the way you looked at Ellie earlier. Something happened on Gallifrey a long time ago didn't it? Something that you won't tell me." He still said nothing. "Did you have a family? The way you looked at Ellie, that was a look of regret and sadness. What happened Doctor?" She saw tears pool in his eyes. "Doctor?" She became more concerned now.

"I don't want to talk about it. Not now anyway. I can't do it." She nodded and allowed him to compose himself.

"Sorry." He shook his head.

"It's okay. You were only asking. With good intentions too." She smiled.

"Look whatever happened back there, just know that you can come and talk to me whenever you like. I'm always here. And don't let it stop you from doing things today. I know it's hard to move on from difficult situations but living your life in regret isn't any easier. I know that all too well." He smiled and nodded.

"I know." She smiled back.

"So why don't you come back to ours for a while? Stay for some dinner? Please Doctor. I've missed you." He hesitated but then sighed.

"Okay, that sounds lovely."

They got back to see Danny rocking Ellie in his arms happily. For once she was awake and not crying. Clara couldn't help but smile and walk over. Seeing Danny with her melted her heart. He was the perfect dad.

"Hello you two." Clara kissed him and then her forehead. "The Doctor is going to stay for some dinner, if that's okay?" Danny nodded and smiled.

"Yeah of course! Come in. Sit down." The Doctor did so. Clara smiled.

"So now she's happy would you like to hold her?" He nodded slowly. Danny passed her over gently. The Doctor adjusted her in his arms and smiled.

"She's beautiful... Congratulations." Danny and Clara both smiled.

"Thank you."

Ellie fell asleep in his arms so Danny moved off to make dinner and Clara popped to the toilet. When she came back she stopped at the door to hear the Doctor talking to her gently.

"Ellie. That's a lovely name isn't it? Your mummy and daddy are really cool, do you know that? Your dad and I haven't always been good friends but I make sure that we don't argue now as I know it upsets your mum. I hate seeing your mum upset. She's very brave you know. I'm sure you will be too. One day you'll do something amazing that everyone will remember." He kissed her on the head and smiled. Clara walked in and pretended she hadn't heard.

"All okay?" He looked up and nodded. As he did so he moved a little too much and she began to wriggle and whimper. He held her tensely.

"Ooh Clara she hasn't done that yet. What do I do?" She laughed at his panic.

"It's okay. I'll take her. She probably needs feeding anyway." He nodded.

"Again?" She smiled.

"Babies seem to need a lot of feeding." He smiled back, reminiscing his past.

They had dinner all together and managed to keep a conversation going throughout the whole meal which surprised Clara. They always seemed to get stuck on what to say due to the slight tension between Danny and the Doctor. But tonight it went very well indeed.

Soon the Doctor decided to make a move. Danny stood up and shook his hand.

"Take care. Come back soon?" The Doctor smiled and nodded. He stroked Ellie's cheek and then headed out into the hallway. Danny gave them a second alone.

"Please do come back soon Doctor. You are welcome any time." He nodded.

"I will do. Thank you for tonight. I enjoyed it." She smiled.

"I'm glad. It was nice." She hesitated before she spoke again. "And also, if you ever want to talk about anything else don't feel like you're intruding. I'm available for a chat any time." He nodded.

"Yes, okay, I'll bare it in mind." She moved forwards and hugged him.

"See you soon." He nodded and then closed the door behind him. She watched the blue box dematerialise and smiled. Danny sighed when Ellie began to cry again.

"Someone doesn't like the TARDIS noise." Clara laughed a little and walked in to sit by his side.

Later Clara laid Ellie down in her play cot and sat back down to snuggle into Danny.

"Okay?" She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm good." He moved so he could see her face. She frowned. "I am fine, really." He nodded hesitantly.

"Okay." She sat up and sighed.

"Okay I'm a little worried." He laughed.

"I knew there was something, I could tell by your face." He said sweetly. "What is it?"

"The Doctor... I'm sure he has something he wants to say but feels like he can't. Something about his past. The way he looked at Ellie. It was like he missed having a child of his own. There was so much empathy and adoration. I don't know, I just feel like he wants to get something off of his chest." Danny nodded.

"And he will tell you, but when he's ready. You've invited him here so he can come anytime. He knows that. Let him decide when he wants to tell you and then be there for him when he does." She smiled and nodded.

"I suppose."

"He'll be fine, he's always fine. He knows that you'll always be there to listen and I think that's a big enough comfort for him." She kissed him deeply, taking him slightly by surprise. "What's that for?" She grinned, their foreheads still touching.

"For making things better. Always." He smiled and kissed her again. He slid down the back of the sofa a little leaving Clara laying on his chest. She kissed him and giggled a little. As she did Ellie stirred and began to cry again. Danny smiled.

"I'll get you to myself again one day." He winked.

 **Yay**


	3. Chapter 3- Sick Day

**Little bit shorter but here's some protective Danny for you ;)**

Sick day

Clara sat up and sighed. Her whole body felt numb. Her head was banging, her stomach was churning and her eyes struggled to take in the light. Nevertheless she got up for her alarm and headed for a shower. Danny stirred as she emerged from the bathroom again. She walked towards the bed and then found herself overcome with dizziness. She stumbled and then grabbed on to the mattress to steady herself. Danny jumped up and moved to her side.

"Careful. Slowly, slowly." He supported her weight in order for her to sit down. She took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. "What happened there? Are you feeling okay?" She nodded although that was clearly not the truth.

"Yeah... I just felt a bit dizzy." He frowned. He went to feel her head to check her temperature but she pushed his hand away and stood up. "I'm fine. Danny I'm fine." He shook his head.

"No you're not, you're clearly very dizzy and you're as white as a sheet."

"I'll be okay." He sighed.

"I'll ring you in sick, you've hardly slept in a week. Have a day off. You need to rest. You're clearly not well." She shook her head and walked towards the wardrobe.

"No need. I'm okay." She said dismissively. He sighed again and nodded.

"Okay, just please take it easy." He got up and headed for a shower himself.

When he had got dressed he went downstairs. As he walked into the kitchen he saw Clara sat at the kitchen table, breakfast uneaten in front of her and a cup of tea pushed away from her. Even more colour had dripped out of her face and her cheeks had a slight green tinge. She obviously was quite ill. He sat down and looked at her. She held her hand up and shook her head.

"No. I know what you're going to say. But I'm fine. I'll be okay."

"Clara have you seen yourself? I don't think I've ever seen you so pale. You're not well, don't do this." She shook her head again.

"I need to Danny I need to go in. I said to Emma I'd help her with some exam papers ready for next week and that I'd plan some lessons with Adrian. I've got a meeting with the head too. I can't miss a day." He sighed.

"You haven't stopped working for weeks. You've not slept. You've barely eaten. You're making yourself ill. Go back to bed and rest. Everything can be reorganised, the last thing you want is to make yourself even more ill." She sighed and then went quiet. Suddenly she stood up and ran to the toilet. Danny sighed as she heard her throw up. He ran to her side and held her hair back. Once she had stopped she sat back against the wall and breathed deeply. "Clara, please." She sighed and nodded.

They sat back at the table and soon her cheeks became flushed again and she managed to eat some breakfast. She didn't feel amazing but she certainly felt a bit better. Danny noticed too.

"You look a little brighter again now." She smiled a little and nodded.

"I feel a little better too. I'll go to work." He went to protest. "But I'll take it easy, and if I feel ill again I'll come straight home." He sighed and nodded.

"Okay, but I'm going to be watching you and making sure that you don't do anything too steep. You need a rest." She nodded and they got ready to leave.

She felt okay for most of the first two lessons but it was half way through the second that her head began to bang again. She sat down and sighed. As she took a sip of water the sick feeling came back. She took a deep breath and shook her head.

"Miss? Are you alright?" A student asked. Clara looked up and nodded. She winced a little as she did. She stood up and then felt overwhelmingly sick. She ran out of the classroom and straight to the toilet. Her class looked at each other with confusion and concern.

"Phoebe, go and get Mr Pink." A few people said. She nodded and ran along the corridor to maths. She knocked on his door and entered.

"Sir, sorry but I don't think Mrs Pink is very well. She ran out of the classroom and hasn't come back." He sighed and shuffled on the spot a little as he tried to work out what to do next.

"Okay, I'll come now." Phoebe nodded. "Can you all carry on with the questions in the book? I won't be long. And I will be checking work so don't think you can sit and chat." He smiled and then ran down the corridor behind Phoebe. He said thank you to her, settled Clara's class and then headed for the toilets. "Clara? Clara?" He called as he walked in hesitantly. The last thing he wanted was to be seen in the woman's toilets for no reason. To his relief he heard her voice.

"Danny." He walked in to see her sat by the toilet with her head resting on her arms. She had obviously been sick again and looked even more pale now, if that was even possible. He knelt down by her side.

"Let's get you home." She nodded without protesting, a sign that she really did feel ill. It was unlike Clara to not put up a fight. He helped her up and let her get her balance. She smiled weakly as he kissed her head. "I'll take you home. We can chill out together. No work in sight." She nodded but then stopped.

"What about your lessons?" He shook his head.

"I only have one more today and that's a year 7 class so I'll get cover. You're more important." She smiled and let him lead her out of the door.

As soon as they arrived Clara ran to the toilet and threw up again. Danny followed her and rubbed her back gently. She then sat back on the floor and shook her head.

"You don't need to see this. I'm sorry." He smiled and put his arm around her.

"Don't be silly. I love you, all of you. Even this bit. It happens sometimes, that's okay. We're home now so you can relax." She nodded and leant her head onto his shoulder. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?" She shook her head.

"Tired." He smiled and nodded.

"Okay, let's go upstairs then. And you are going to get some sleep. If it's the last thing I do, I'll make you get some sleep." She laughed a little and got up slowly.

As soon as her head hit the pillow she was asleep, not that Danny was surprised. He went out of the room and walked downstairs quietly. He thought he'd only disturb her if he stayed there, as much as he loved watching her so beautifully peaceful. He put the tv on and sat back to relax.

A while later he looked at his watch to see that an hour had gone by. He was distracted, however, when he suddenly heard Clara's voice shout for him from upstairs. The first time didn't alarm him particularly but then when she shouted again it sounded desperate. He sprinted up the stairs and into their room.

"Clara?!" She was sat up on the bed with her hand on her chest.

"I can't breathe Danny." His eyes widened and he moved to her side.

"Okay, deep breaths. Put your hands on your head and look forwards. That's it, deep breaths." Tears were falling down her cheeks and her hands were shaking uncontrollably. This didn't look like anything out of the ordinary. He recognised the signs immediately and knew what to do. "What happened? Did you go to stand up?" She nodded.

"I tried to but everything kept spinning and I couldn't see." He nodded. "I can't breathe, I can't breathe!" She began to panic even more. He stopped her and moved so that he was looking at her.

"Clara you're having a panic attack, you're alright. Breathe deeply. I'm here, you're at home, safe. Breathe in, and out. In and out. In. And out." He breathed along with her. She begun to calm down slowly as she copied what he was doing.

She eventually got her breath back and looked down at her shaking hands. He moved to sit on the other side of the bed where she could lay into him.

"You've just over worked yourself, that's all. You've done so so much in the last month, on little sleep and little food too." She sighed.

"I had to though, I had to for the kids. They deserve to get top grades." He nodded.

"I know they do, and they will. But your health is more important. It doesn't matter how much marking you've got to do or how many things you've said you'll finish, you still need to sleep and eat." She nodded.

"How did you know that was a panic attack?" He kissed her head softly.

"I've had plenty, more than I can count. I know the signs." She nodded again. "But it's okay to feel scared, especially as you've not really had one before. Do you feel okay now?" She shook her head.

"My head is still banging and I feel sick still too." Danny nodded.

"Do you want anything? Water? Paracetamol?" She sat up a little.

"Yes please, both." He got up and ran to get them. Once she had taken it and had a drink she laid back down.

"You should get some more rest, you still look exhausted." She nodded as her eyes began to close a little. Danny started to move off the bed but she stopped him.

"No, stay. Please." He smiled and kissed her head again.

"Okay." She curled into an ball near his chest and let him put his arms around her. Soon enough she was asleep again.

She stirred awake slowly a while later. She smiled when she saw Danny still laying there watching her peacefully. She moved closer to him and hugged him tightly. He put his arms around her again.

"Okay?" She nodded.

"Yeah, I feel a little better now."

"Good. What did I say? You needed a rest." She nodded.

"You were right. I knew you were all along, I just didn't feel like I could let people down and stop how much work I was doing." He sighed.

"I understand that, but as I said earlier, your health is much more important. If you aren't getting enough sleep and aren't eating in order to get work done then you know you've taken on too much. No one else will mind if you ease off a little."

"I will though. And then I'll feel bad."

"Give yourself a break Clara. You've done so so much, now you deserve to rest." She rested her head back into him. "You are honestly the most hardworking and dedicated person at that school. I wish you could see what everyone else sees. They all appreciate you so much for what you do and you've produced so many fantastic students, grade wise and personality wise. You've changed people for the better, shaped their lives. Not many people can say they've done that." She looked up and smiled with tears in her eyes.

"No one has ever said that to me before you know." He laughed a little.

"Well that's makes me the first then. It needed to be said as its true, it's very true." She kissed him a little.

"Thank you." He smiled and let her lay back onto him. What did she do to deserve him? She honestly didn't know.

 **Thank you for readingggg**


	4. Chapter 4- Birthday Surprise

**Hey I'm backkkk! I hope you enjoy this, personally it's one of my favourites :) x**

Birthday surprise

Clara woke up to see Danny smiling down at her. She grinned and kissed him softly.

"Morning." He kissed her again.

"Morning, happy birthday beautiful." She smiled.

"Thank you." She went to kiss him again but he pulled away and got out of bed. She groaned a little and tried to pull him back. "Don't go." He laughed.

"I won't be a second." He winked and ran downstairs. He then reappeared with a card and a small present. She smiled as he laid back down.

"Thank you Danny." He kissed her head.

"That's okay, now open it already." She giggled and sat up a little. She opened the card and smiled at his scruffy handwriting. She then ripped open the paper and grinned when she saw the jewellery box. He watched intently as she opened it, his fingers crossed behind him. Suddenly her eyes widened and she hugged him tightly.

"Oh Danny. I love it." He smiled and took a deep breath.

"Phew, good. I was worried that you wouldn't." She laughed a little and shook her head as she looked down at the necklace which had 'impossible girl' engraved in it.

"As if I wouldn't like it Danny." He now smiled and kissed her again.

"There may be something else too... But you'll have to wait for that. You kinda can't have it now." She frowned.

"What is it?" He shook his head.

"Not telling." She sighed.

"Danny! You have to!" He shook his head again and laughed.

"No! It's a surprise. But don't worry, I'm sure you'll love it." She smiled again and gave in.

"Okay, I'll wait." She winked. He kissed her again and then sat up.

"As much as I'd love to stay here all day we need to get ready for work." She groaned and looked at her clock realising that they were going to be late if they didn't hurry up. He smiled at her and headed into the bathroom for a shower.

They got to work and Danny was determined to tell everyone it was her birthday. She spent the whole journey telling him not to but he wouldn't let it go. She hated the attention but it was kind of sweet. However, she wasn't keen on the year 9's knowing. She could already hear the deafening singing of the birthday song which would take up the whole lesson. Danny smiled and agreed to not tell them.

Lesson four started and Clara had her sixth form class for English literature. She liked that class, there were only ten of them and they were all really nice people. Danny popped his head in and she sighed knowing what was coming. Jake handed her some work to mark and Danny took his chance.

"Hold up on the work there Jake! It's her birthday, give her a break!" He winked and laughed as he headed back to his class. Everyone laughed as Clara shook her head.

"I told him not to tell everyone but-" They all continued to laugh.

"He's been running around the school telling everyone all day miss." Chloe said. Clara shook her head again and laughed. "Anyway, you should have told us! We could have celebrated!"

"That's why I didn't tell people, I don't like the attention." She laughed as she spoke.

"You're entitled to at least one day of attention a year." Chloe said. Clara sighed and nodded.

"I suppose I am. You know what, as a treat I'll let you all watch the movie version of Pride And Prejudice instead of reading the next chapter." She winked and they all laughed.

"Oh we feel honoured." Jake said jokingly. Clara smiled widely.

Later Danny came into her room. She stood up and kissed him softly. He looked at her with surprise. She never normally did anything like that at school in case someone saw them. Nevertheless, he kissed her back.

"What was that for?" She smiled.

"I've just had a very nice morning." He now grinned.

"Oh so you've stopped hating me for telling people it's your birthday then?" She smiled and kissed him again.

"Maybe." He smiled and went to kiss her but pulled away quickly when a student knocked on the door. Clara laughed and pointed to the bookshelf. She threw him a textbook to put away and then headed for the door. "There. Look busy." He laughed.

They got in the car to drive home and Clara sat smiling sweetly at Danny.

"Yes?" He said happily.

"Can you tell me now? My birthday surprise, pleaseeee?" She grinned but he shook his head.

"Not now no, you have to wait." She groaned.

"Dannyyyy! Please!" He laughed and shook his head again.

"Nope. I'll tell you at home." She sighed and leant back on the seat.

They got in the front door and Clara stood in front of him.

"Now?" He sighed.

"Okay, give me a second. You go and sit in the living room." She smiled and did so. A few minutes later he emerged with a small book in his hand. She frowned.

"What's this then?" She said as he sat down next to her.

"Open it." She looked down and opened the pages slowly. Her hand flew to her mouth in surprise as she looked at it. The pages were full of photos of Clara when she was young. Ones with her mum and her dad. "I did some digging. And some talking to your dad." She grinned, tears welling in her eyes. "Look at the last page." In the centre was a picture of Clara sat with her mum. It was the last picture they ever had taken together before she died. Clara couldn't help but start to cry a little. Danny pulled her into a hug and kissed her head.

"This weekend I'm going to take you to where that photo was taken. I've booked the hotel and planned the routes. It's all set." She looked up in surprise.

"Oh my god Danny really?!" He nodded and she kissed him deeply.

"I love you so much and I wanted to show you that. I know that the anniversary of your mum is coming up, so I wanted to give you something special towards that and your birthday." She smiled softly whilst looking at the book.

"I don't know what to say... I love it. Thank you." He smiled and pulled her into a hug.

"You deserve it, it's okay." She smiled.

"No one's ever done anything for me to do with my mum... People don't forget but they just don't think to mention her. I'm glad you have." He wiped her tears away gently and smiled.

"She deserves to be remembered. No matter what happens, no matter where we go in our lives, she's always going to be there. Watching you and wishing you happiness. I felt like giving you something to remember her by would make you happy, because both of you deserve all of the happiness in the world." Tears fell down Clara's cheeks again and she kissed him softly.

"I love you Danny. Thank you." He smiled and kissed her back.

"I love you too, more than anything."

The weekend rolled around and Clara couldn't contain her excitement.

"Can we go now?" Danny smiled and kissed her softly.

"I just need to tidy up, do some work, have a bath and then we can go." She shook her head and laughed.

"No, Dannyyyy!" He picked her up and spun her around making her giggle.

"I'm only joking, let's go." She nodded and grabbed their bags after kissing him softly.

They drove for what felt like hours. Every so often Danny took his eyes off the road and looked over to Clara. The window was open and she was peacefully looking out of it. Her hair brushed back and the sun was gently kissing her skin. He couldn't help but sigh. He felt so lucky. How the hell did he manage to get someone so beautiful? He became so lost in thought that he didn't notice that Clara had seen him looking over.

"Oi you." She hit his arm gently. He laughed.

"I can't help it. You look so perfect." She smiled and put her hand on top of his.

"Excuse me I think you're the perfect one this weekend. You're the one who's planned all of this, of which I am eternally grateful." He smiled back and shook his head.

"Don't go all English-y on me." She laughed.

"Sorry, habit? I unequivocally promise not to again?" She winked.

"Now I don't even know what that means." He smiled.

"I'll have to grab my dictionary for you."

"Only if you read my maths textbook?" She shook her head and laughed.

"No chance."

Eventually they arrived at their destination. Danny had kept where they were staying a secret from Clara so was rather excited to see what she thought. He pulled up on the drive and her eyes widened.

"You didn't! Danny no! Oh my god!" He smiled as her hand flew to her mouth. She got out of the car and walked round to him. She jumped in his arms and giggled happily.

"You like it then?" She nodded and grinned as she looked at the cottage in front of her. Clara had been asking to go and stay somewhere like this for months. Danny had kept saying no, but he was clearly saving it for a special occasion.

After a look around and a relax Clara sat up and looked at Danny.

"Can we get dinner? I'm hungry." He smiled.

"Yes we can, I've got it all sorted. Oh but, you'll need to put on something different." She frowned, knowing that he wasn't going to let on where they were going. "So I think you should put on that dress that I picked out for you this morning? I like that one." She rolled her eyes.

"Only because it's a little tight." He laughed.

"No! Of course not! The colour suits you!" He winked making her laugh back. She leant in and kissed him deeply.

They headed upstairs to get ready. Danny emerged from the bathroom after showering with the towel round his bottom half looking a little perplexed. Clara laughed.

"What's up?" He shook his head.

"Nothing. I just think I left my shirt at home. The one I was going to wear." She rolled her eyes.

"You bought another one though right?" He nodded so she got up and went to look in his bag for it. She pulled it out and held it up to straighten it. "There. This one. This one is nice." He smiled and nodded.

"Thank you personal dresser." She held her hands up.

"What can I say, that's my job." She smiled and walked back over to her side of the bed.

"Now get that dress on because you're making me want to stay here in bed rather than going out." She laughed and stood up to grab it.

"All in good time Mr Pink. All in good time." She winked making him smile. He moved away and went to grab his clothes off of the bed.

She came down the stairs a while later, he waited for her in the kitchen. She walked through and his eyes widened.

"You look amazing." She grinned.

"Thank you." She walked over and straightened his shirt collar. "You're not looking too bad yourself." He smiled and kissed her gently.

"Let's go." She nodded and he led her to the door. "Car keys?" He stopped and smiled at her again.

"We won't be needing those." She frowned.

"But were in the middle of nowhere and I'm wearing heels..." He laughed.

"You'll see, and it's not far. Don't worry." She sighed and took his hand.

He led her onto the side of the road where they crossed and then went through a gate into a field. She frowned again.

"This way." They walked down the path and then turned onto a clearing. Clara gasped. In front of them was the tree that the picture had been taken by and a picnic all laid out for them. It was placed perfectly so that they could see the sunset too. She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Danny it's perfect." He grinned and led her to sit down. He opened the picnic basket set between them and grabbed out two glasses. He poured them a glass of champagne each and smiled sweetly at her. "How long has it taken you to arrange all of this then?" He laughed.

"Not too long..." She gave him a look.

"Oh come on. I know what your planning skills are like." He smiled again.

"Okay it took a while. But that doesn't matter, it was all worth it to see your face. You make everything worthwhile." She smiled and kissed him deeply.

"I love you Danny. Thank you." He grinned and kissed her back.

They sat for a while in silence within each other's arms. Nothing needed to be said. The view said it all. It was another few minutes before Danny noticed the tears falling down Clara's face. He sat forwards and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him and tried to wipe her eyes. He shook his head.

"No, let it out. It's okay." She looked at him for a moment and then broke. Tears flooded down her cheeks as he held her in his arms.

"I miss her so much Danny. So much it hurts." He kissed her head and held her closer.

"I know you do. And that's okay. But she would be so so proud of you if she could see you now. You've come so far, achieved so much. You make her proud everyday." She smiled a little up to him.

"Sometimes I can deal with it. Because I don't think about it all. But this, I love it I really do, but it's brought back so many memories. Nice memories but still... I don't know." He smiled.

"I understand, don't worry. I knew this would be hard. But I hope that it's brought some comfort to you, to remember her at least. More than you do usually, I mean." She smiled a little at him.

"It has. It really has. This whole thing has been so thoughtful, I love you so much for doing this. And I'd like to think you're right, she would be proud of who I am today. I hope so anyway, I really hope so." She rested her head back on his shoulder and they sat for a while longer.

It began to get dark and the warmth of the day faded away. Clara shivered a little as she sat back up. Danny grabbed his jacket and put it around her shoulders.

"Thank you." He smiled.

"We should head back. What do you fancy doing? A little walk? Home, wine and tv?" She thought for a moment.

"Home. Wine and tv sounds good." He nodded and helped her up. They put away all of their things and then headed back down the road hand in hand.

They got back to the cottage and Clara sat down on the sofa. She smiled as Danny handed her a glass and poured out the wine slowly. He sat down soon after but didn't relax back like Clara expected him to. She looked at him, confused.

"I've got something to show you." He reached over to the table and handed her a photo. She looked at it and smiled, immediately placing a young Danny as the boy in the picture. "That was me. Aged five. The day I was put into care." Now she looked up realising it's significance. Slight sadness had flooded his eyes. "I know it's not quite the same thing as you and your mum and the picture you have but it means the same to me. That day I lost both of my parents. I have no idea where they are today. So for me, it's like they're no longer alive. I don't remember much about my mum but I do know that she never stopped smiling. It's things like that that keep you going. They're the moments that you need to hold on to and remember, not the bad ones. And, I still miss them everyday. But no matter where I am or what I'm doing, they're always in here." He pointed to his heart and then hers. "Missing someone you love is okay, it's alright to admit it too. But know that you're not alone with this, because you're not. I want to be able to support you through times like this. I love you and you deserve that, you deserve more than that." She wiped away her tears and hugged him tightly.

"Danny." He kissed her shoulder as he hugged her tightly.

"It's okay. Things are going to be fine, I promise." She pulled away and looked into his eyes. She then kissed him deeply and smiled.

"I am the luckiest woman alive." He laughed.

"Oh you flatter me." She laughed back and allowed him to kiss her. In that moment, Clara knew everything would fall into place. Everything would be okay because Danny Pink, her Danny Pink, would not let anything hurt her.

 **Thank you for reading! I'm open for chapter requests so if you have an idea please let me know!x**


	5. Chapter 5- Dread

**Helloooo, sorry for this one, it just kinda happened...**

Dread

Clara slid away from Danny's grasp and grabbed her dressing down. She walked downstairs leaving him asleep. After flicking on the kettle she settled to watch the sunrise. It was a Sunday but her body clock was so used to getting up for work that she never managed to get a lie in. Danny, however, slept for England. Anyway, she didn't feel like sleeping. Her thoughts were preoccupied.

A while later she heard Danny's footsteps coming down the stairs. She sighed and stood herself up to watch him walk in. As he did he rubbed his eyes and yawned before walking slightly into the doorframe.

"You're still half asleep Danny." She said as she laughed at his facial expression. He nodded and pulled her into a hug, resting this head on her shoulder immediately.

"I know, but I wanted to check you were okay." She smiled gently. He was so cute when he was tired.

"I'm fine. I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd get up so not to disturb you." He smiled and kissed her softly. He then grabbed her hand and led her back up to bed.

"It's too cold down here. And it's early. We don't need to be up early today." She sighed and nodded. How could she resist his little face smiling at her sweetly?

They laid back in bed and Clara watched Danny fall back to sleep again. She snuggled into his chest, taking comfort from his grasp around her. Something didn't feel right though. Usually she was so relaxed when she was with Danny but today she felt really anxious. It was her mums anniversary which obviously upset her and made her feel strange but most years she coped quite well. This time everything felt different, a bad different. She expected herself to go back to sleep but something stopped her. She laid there silently instead.

A while later moved away from Danny a little again and sat up on the edge of the bed. She took a deep breath and looked around the room. Suddenly she felt extremely sad. Melancholy even. Tears began to fall down her cheeks uncontrollably and her hands began to shake. Like that feeling when you cry so much you can't stop and you lose control of your body. It was like she had been holding in all her emotion and stress about her mum and work for so long and now she had released it all in one go. Danny stirred a little so she looked round and wiped her eyes in an attempt to calm herself down. He sat up and moved towards her immediately.

"Clara?! What's wrong honey?" She shook her head and stood up away from his grasp. She walked to stand by the window, he followed her slowly. "Clara?" He put his arms around her but a feeling of anger swallowed her whole. She hit his chest in annoyance but then gave up fighting and cried into his arms. He held her close and kissed her head.

She calmed down and managed to slow the tears. She moved away from him and sat on the bed. He sat beside her and sighed.

"What's wrong sweetie? Please, talk to me." She sighed and looked at him. The truth was she wanted to explain it to him so badly but she didn't know how. Her thoughts didn't make sense in her own head let alone out loud.

"I can't Danny." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"It doesn't have to make sense. It doesn't have to be all of it at once." She shook her head and stood up.

"I can't. Not now. I need to work it out for myself first. I'm going to get in the shower." She left his grasp and disappeared into the bathroom. He watched her go, concerned about what she could be thinking.

When she emerged again she smiled gently. The look on his face was so predictable.

"Please don't ask me again Danny. It's not that I don't want to tell you it's just-" He nodded.

"I know, I get it. Don't worry. No more questions."

She was quiet for the rest of the day. He said nothing about it as requested but that didn't stop him from worrying. She switched on her laptop a little later and sunk her head into her hands when she saw all of the emails she needed to answer. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"Clara don't. Leave this. You can catch up, today you need to relax. To work you need to be in the right frame of mind and you definitely aren't." She went to protest. "No arguments." He shut her laptop screen down. "Come back and sit down. I know you can't tell me what's wrong. And that's okay. But I want you to make sure that you relax and don't push yourself today. You deserve a day off." She sighed and leant her head on his shoulder. He kissed it softly. "Fancy putting on a movie?" She nodded and allowed him to choose one. She wasn't really in the mood to watch one anyway so his choice made no difference to her.

The next day they both got up and ready for another week at work. Clara still hadn't said much to Danny, the urge to ask her again was unbearable now but he knew it was the right thing to do. She needed time, whatever it was that was upsetting her. They drove to school and Danny parked up. He stopped her for a second before she disappeared off into her class.

"I'll come and see you later like normal. But if you want to talk at all, anytime, I'm in my room. Please don't feel like you have to hide anything. Whatever it is I'm sure we can sort it out. I love you." She smiled a little and hugged him.

"Thank you." She turned and walked away.

The days lessons seemed to whizz by. Clara wasn't really paying much attention to what was happening, she knew her lesson plans off by heart now so that wasn't too much of a problem. She wasn't in the mood to concentrate. Once her last class had left she finally managed to relax a little. She opened her inbox and sighed. Tears fell down her cheeks slowly again. She didn't even bother to try to stop them this time. She just absentmindedly let them fall. Danny came in a while later and sighed. He sat on the edge of desk and looked down at her with sad eyes.

"Clara, talk to me. Please." She sighed and stood up. She picked up her books and folders and began to tidy them away, ignoring the increasing amount of tears steaming her cheeks. He got up and stood in front of her. He took the books out of her hands to set them down and stopped her from walking away. "No, don't do this. You can't carry on like this. Talk to me. I want to help you." She now nodded and relaxed in his arms again.

"I don't know what's wrong with me Danny. This time of year, I'm normally okay. It's never easy but I can cope. This year, I just can't do it. I can't bare it." He sighed and nodded.

"Your mum?" She nodded back and sighed.

"It's just really hit me hard this year you know. I don't know why this year in particular but everything feels ten times more painful. There's so many things that I want her to see. So much has happened in the last few years and I wanted her to be a part of that. I want her to meet you. To see our job and our home. But she's gone and she can't ever see any of it." She rested her head on his chest as he held her close. Tears soaked through his shirt as she sobbed gently into him. He kissed her head but then looked up to see the classroom door still open. He pulled away and closed it quickly knowing that Clara wouldn't want anyone to see her like this. He then walked to her desk where she had moved to. He sat on the chair and ushered her to sit on his lap.

"Your mum is gone. You know that. And that's never ever going to be something that you can forget or move on from. Your mum is such a special person and it's okay for you to want her to be here and for her to see things. But I promise you, there isn't a day when she isn't looking down on you and watching you happily. She would expect to see you sad sometimes because you miss her but the rest of the time, all the rest of the time, she would want you to be happy. Living your life to the full. Doing everything she always dreamt you'd do." Clara smiled a little, struggling to ease the tears that were flowing.

"Some days I wake up and I miss her so much that it hurts. My heart physically aches. When we lost her I didn't know how I was going to live without her. That feeling, that sinking feeling that travels from your heart and all the way to your toes, came back this year for the first time in ages. The last few days... I wanted to talk to you but I just couldn't do it. I'm sorry." He shook his head and stroked her cheek softly.

"Don't be sorry. You've nothing to be sorry for. I will always be here to support you but sometimes there are things that are easier not said. I get that. And as for that sinking feeling, I know it well. But do you know the best way to get over it? Let it pass, talk to people and take some time out. Give yourself time to sit back and reflect on how you feel and why you feel like that. Which is why I told you to stop working yesterday, I could tell how you felt by your face." He lifted up her chin so that she looked at her. "Those big sad eyes. I could write a book from them." She moved in and kissed him softly. He held her close and kissed her back.

They got home and collapsed on the sofa. It had been a physically and emotionally draining day for both of them. They settled in front of the tv together but Danny noticed Clara struggle to completely relax as she always did. He went to say something but she got there first.

"Danny. I think I need your help with something." He nodded and held her hand.

"Anything." She took a deep breath.

"My dad. The other day he asked me to go to mums grave with him..." Danny nodded but sat forward when he realised the importance of what she was going to say. "I said no. I can't do it. He understood but I feel bad. I know I should go but I can't bring myself to. I haven't been since I was about 18. It brings back too many memories." He sighed.

"It may help you know. It may give you some comfort knowing that she's close to you there." She looked away a little, not sure what to respond with. "But what-"

"Will you come with me?" She interrupted. He smiled and nodded.

"If that's what you want. I don't want it to feel as though I'm invading on your family time though." She shook her head.

"Not with dad, we wouldn't go with dad. I mean just the two of us. I don't think I could do it with him, it would be too much."

"Okay. Whatever you want to do. This is entirely on your terms Clara. You decide how much you want me there, or how little. If you feel like you can't do it then that's fine too." She nodded and smiled a little.

"Thank you." He kissed her head as she settled back to watch the tv. He watched her for a little while. All he wanted was to be able to take away her pain and sadness. Laying there, she looked so vulnerable. He couldn't help but hug her a little tighter, as though she needed more protection than usual. She looked away from the tv and pushed herself up to put a hand on his chest.

He smiled a little and pulled her close.

"Come here." She snuggled into him. "I hate seeing you like this. I promise everything will be okay. I'll make sure it's okay. Your happiness means everything to me and, no matter what happens, I'll help you get through this." She wiped her tears and kissed him softly.

"I really don't deserve you." He shook his head.

"Shh, yes you do." She smiled.

"But Danny, if you need to talk at all please don't feel like you can't. I know you want to focus on me but you matter too. If there's anything you want to talk about, you know, to do with your parents..." He stopped her and nodded.

"I will, I know I can. You're always there to listen. I just don't speak about them really... I don't know why. I guess it's because I was so young when it all happened." She nodded, not wanting to push him to say anything he didn't want to say. "But don't worry about that now." He smiled and pushed her hair back behind her ear. He kissed her softly and smiled.

Saturday arrived and Clara hadn't slept. She was struggling to contain her nerves. This meant so much to her and she knew deep down she wanted to do it but she felt so scared. Terrified even. Danny came downstairs once he had woken and walked to her side. He looked down at her hands and sighed as he picked them up.

"You're shaking Clara." Tears began to fill her eyes.

"I'm so scared. I shouldn't be. But I am." He kissed her head.

"No. You have every right to be scared. We're going to do this together. I'm with you every step of the way." She smiled a little.

"Do you mind if we get going soon? I know it's early but I don't want to sit around waiting." He nodded understandingly.

"How about I cook us some breakfast? Then we can get dressed and get on the road." She smiled and kissed his cheek.

Later, they began to drive down the motorway. Clara's heart was beating out of her chest, her hands shaking around the bunch of flowers laying on her lap. Danny reached over and placed his hand on top of hers. She smiled at him, so so grateful that he had come with her to support her. She couldn't do it on her own.

They arrived and Danny parked up. Clara stared at the gates for a second, tears building in her eyes. He took her hand again.

"Ready?" She hesitated, took a deep breath and then nodded.

"I think so." He smiled and they walked slowly down the path. They turned the corner and she stopped walking. "She's down there. At the end." Tears fell down her cheeks and she struggled to keep herself together.

"Do you want me to stay? Or do you want some time alone?"

"Stay. Please." He nodded and held her close.

"Okay." She led him down to the gravestone which was placed nicely under a large oak tree.

"It feels like so long since I've been here." Danny stood by her side, his arm around her protectively.

"I'm guessing your dad has been already? The flowers look fresh." She nodded.

"He came yesterday. He brings her those flowers every time. They're the ones he got her on their first date." She laughed a little at the memory. He smiled.

"I like them." She looked up at him.

"Me too." They stood in silence for a few minutes. Clara then took a deep breath and crouched down to place her flowers next to her dads. She moved a few leaves away as she did so. "I used to like the idea of the oak tree being here. It shelters her from the rain. The only bad thing is that it drops leaves all over." Danny smiled a little. He knew what she was doing. She was talking to distract her from the fact that all she wanted to do was break down and cry. She was holding in so much emotion, he could tell. Now he sat down next to where she was crouched. She crossed her legs and sat beside him. He grabbed her hand and kissed her head.

"I'm proud of you you know." She looked at him. "For doing this, I mean. You've been so brave." For a moment it looked like she was going to smile but then something stopped her from doing so. She looked down at their hands and sighed as tears bubbled over and began to drown her cheeks. "It's okay." He put his arm around her and held her close. She sobbed in his arms.

It must have been another half an hour before either of them said anything again. Clara lifted up her head and wiped her eyes slightly.

"Danny, do you mind if I-" He nodded and started to move, knowing what she was going to ask.

"I'll start walking back to the car. I love you." He kissed her head and walked away slowly. He didn't want to leave her but he knew that she needed some time alone with her mum. She deserved that.

He sat in the car and sighed. It was a while before he saw Clara stroll back round the corner and up the path. She was looking at the floor, hands in her pockets. He could make out the tear stains on her cheeks as the light shone off of them. He opened the door and started to walk towards her. As he did she ran into his arms and cried. He sighed and took her weight in a hug. He had never seen her that upset before. It broke his heart.

"Let's go home. Please sweetie. Let me take you home." She nodded and left his grasp. She walked to the car without looking back.

She fell asleep on the way home. The emotion of the day had drained her. It relaxed Danny a little to see her calm whilst she was sleeping. He hoped that meant she wasn't worrying, she was at peace for a little while. It was only when they got home that he felt guilty for having to wake her. He pulled up on the drive and stopped the engine. She stirred a little making him smile.

"Clara, were home." She opened her eyes a little and nodded. She held his hand for a second and then got out of the car. He found his keys and let them inside. "Go and lie down. Hot chocolate?" She smiled gently and nodded.

"With extra cream?" He smiled back at her.

"If you insist." He said sarcastically as he watched her walk to the sofa.

He handed her her drink and sat beside her.

"I really am proud of you for today. You've done so well." She shook her head.

"Hardly. I just sat and cried on you all day." He sighed and put his arm around her.

"You're bound to be upset. No one can blame you for that. You did amazingly even to make yourself go. That's not an easy thing to do. But you did it. Don't beat yourself up about being upset." She smiled a little and ate some of the cream off the top of her mug.

"Thank you for coming with me." He shook his head.

"As if I wouldn't! I'm here for you, always." She kissed him softly and smiled.

"I love you Danny." He kissed her again.

"I love you too."

 **Thank youuuuu for reading :) x**


	6. Chapter 6- First Impressions

**So what was it like when Danny and Clara first met?**

First impressions

Clara headed to work as usual. She wasn't in the slightest motivated to teach today. She'd had a weekend out with her friends so now just wanted to sleep. But, despite that, Monday morning called.

She got to the staff room and put her stuff down to make a cup of tea. She was soon met by the head teacher.

"Good morning Clara, how are you today?" She smiled.

"I'm very well thank you. How about you?" He smiled back.

"I'm good. I just wanted to let you know that we've got a new teacher starting today. Maths." She nodded.

"Ooh okay, I'll be sure to say hi." He nodded and smiled as he walked off. Clara moved to sit down with some other members of staff. They began to chat and laugh about their weekends but all three of them looked up when the door opened again. In walked an unfamiliar face. He looked rather lost, a little daunted even. It suddenly clicked in Clara's head that he must be the new guy.

"Hi, new maths teacher?" Adrian said. He nodded slowly and shut the door behind him.

"Yes, that's me. Danny Pink. And yeah, I've already had all of the jokes about the surname." He smiled and they all laughed.

"Come and take a seat." He smiled and did so nervously. Clara looked across at him and smiled. She was attempting not to prejudge him as she seemed to do with everyone but, first things first she thought to herself, he's hot, and really cute. He smiled back at her. No, he's super hot, she said to herself. "So where have you come from then Danny? Anywhere interesting?"

"The army." Adrian nodded.

"Wow. That's impressive! What made you become a teacher then?" Danny shrugged and began to answer a little hesitantly.

"Fancied a change I suppose. Something a little less dangerous."

"Oh don't relax yet, some of those kids are a right handful." They all laughed.

"Well I'm hoping that in a classroom setting things won't get too out of hand." They all smiled. Adrian then began to move.

"We best get going guys. Form in a second." They all sighed and nodded. Everyone filtered out slowly. Clara got up and put her mug on the side. Danny hadn't moved from where he was sat. She smiled back over at him.

"Do you know where you're going?" He shook his head.

"Not a clue." He said with a slight laugh. She smiled as she grabbed her stuff.

"Come with me, I'll give you a little walking tour." He nodded and followed her out.

"Oh I don't want to make you late though." She shook her head.

"I'm going that way, my class is past yours." He nodded.

"What do you teach?"

"English." He smiled.

"Nice. I never could spell, still can't now so I decided to stick to maths." She laughed a little.

"Well I can't do maths so I guess we made the right decisions." He smiled. "So here is history, geography and religious studies. Then next is languages. And through there is the canteen. And then across there is science and business studies. But the area you need is here." She pointed ahead at the maths corridor. "Maths department. And next along is english." He nodded. "It's a lot to take in, I know. But the school is effectively all in one straight line so it's easy enough to work it out." He smiled.

"I'm sure I'll get there." She nodded. "Thank you for that. Sorry, what's your name?"

"Clara, Clara Oswald." He smiled.

"Clara Oswald. I like that." She laughed a little and shook her head.

"Do you? I hate it!" He laughed.

"Why?!"

"It's too fairytale." He laughed again.

"It could be worse I suppose." She nodded.

"Indeed it could." He smiled at her. "I best go, my form will be waiting. But I'm in English 2 if you need anything. Don't hesitate to come and ask."

"Thank you." They smiled at each other and he watched her walk off. Wow, he thought to himself, she's cute, she's really cute.

The next day both Clara and Danny arrived in the car park at the same time.

"Morning Miss Oswald." He hesitated. "Sorry, you are 'miss' right? I just assumed I-" She smiled and stopped him.

"It's okay, I am 'miss' thank you. No ones managed to put up with me for that long yet." He laughed a little. "What about you? Married? Single?"

"Single. I've not had much time to find anyone, what with the army and everything." She nodded, remembering what he had said in the staff room the day before.

"Oh yes, that's quite full on?" She said. He nodded and laughed.

"That's one way of putting it." He looked away a little. "Anyway, anything interesting happening today that I need to know about?" She smiled, but noted his swift change of subject. Did he have something to hide? Or was he just bored of the questions?

"Umm, no, not really. Same old same old." He nodded. She felt the conversation dying down, the last thing she wanted to happen. "What about after work? Doing anything nice?"

"Not really, I'm afraid I'm rather boring." She smiled.

"I highly doubt that..." Ask him, do it, she said to herself. She hesitated. "Come for a drink with me?" Now his head shot up.

"What?" She shook her head.

"No, sorry don't worry. Too soon. Sorry." She attempted to cover the bright colour of red her cheeks had turned. He went to say something back but she shook her head and walked away quickly.

"Clara." He called but she didn't look back. He kicked himself immediately.

The next two lessons felt like years. Danny felt so stupid. Why had he handled it like that? Why not go for a simple yes that would be great? Or yes I'd love to? She couldn't stop thinking about it either. She'd made it so awkward. Why had she jumped into things like that? All she needed to do was play it cool for a while longer and things may have played out better. Danny sat in his class waiting for the bell for break to sound. When it did, his heart rate rocketed. He needed to see her but he didn't know what to say. He hadn't been this nervous in so long. Despite this, he strolled along to her class and knocked on her door gently. She looked round and smiled awkwardly. He came inside and shut the door. Clara stood up quickly and walked towards him.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to jump into things." He shook his head.

"No no. It's okay. It's not too soon at all. I should have been a little more tactful." She sighed.

"It's okay, I just-" He interrupted.

"Yes." She frowned.

"Yes what?" He took a breath.

"I'd love to come for a drink with you. Maybe even a meal?" She relaxed a little and smiled.

"Are you sure?" He almost laughed.

"Yes, of course I am. I like you Clara, I really like you. And I want to get to know you better." She smiled.

"How about Friday? I'll book, I know a place." He nodded.

"Sounds perfect." They smiled, seemingly fixated on each other's eyes for a minute or two. Danny then laughed a little and stepped away. "Are you buying lunch?" She nodded and they walked out of the classroom together.

Friday rolled around and Clara was feeling incredibly nervous. She was normally okay before going on dates but something about this one felt different. It felt more special, like something more was at stake. Every time he walked past her she felt her heart skip a beat. His smile made her blush. She hadn't felt that way about anyone in years.

She got in the taxi and waited anxiously as he drove her to Danny's house. Unsurprisingly, Danny came out of his door immediately. He was clearly just as nervous as her. He stepped in and smiled. His eyes scanned up and down her body for a second and then he seemed to stunned to speak.

"You look... You look incredible." She blushed a little.

"Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself." He smiled and then did up his seatbelt.

"Ooh!" He pulled out some flowers from beside him and handed them to her. She grinned. "For you."

"Thank you! You didn't have to." He shook his head.

"No, I wanted to." She kissed him on the cheek.

They soon arrived and Danny opened the door for her politely. They paid the taxi and then Clara went to follow Danny inside. However, he stopped just before going in.

"I would lead you inside like a gentleman but I don't really know where I'm going." She laughed.

"I'll let you off just this once." He followed her in slowly. He couldn't help but take a glance at her walking ahead of him. He grinned. Something told him the night ahead was going to be good.

They got to the table and Danny pulled out Clara's chair for her. She smiled.

"Oh he's a gentleman too!" She winked making him grin back.

"Sometimes." She laughed. "What can I get you to drink tonight then?" She paused to think.

"White wine?" He nodded.

"Sounds good."

A few hours passed and conversation flowed almost constantly. Albeit Clara was getting slightly tipsy but Danny was the same so they seemed to match.

"So what made you want to teach then? Why leave the army?" Danny put his glass down slowly and took a deep breath. Clara noticed his hesitation so spoke again. "Sensitive subject?" He nodded a little. "Sorry, I should have thought before I asked." He smiled.

"No no, it's okay. Something happened and after it there was no way I could carry on. As you said, sensitive subject, so I'll leave it for tonight. But I'll tell you one day." She nodded understandingly.

"Take all the time you need." He smiled.

"But I've always loved kids, and I'm half decent at maths so I figured it would make sense."

"That does make sense indeed." She went to place her glass down but nearly missed the edge of the table. She laughed a little. Danny sighed.

"I think we should get you home now eh?" She nodded.

"Yeah." He handed her her coat and made sure she managed to get outside to the taxi in one piece.

The taxi stopped outside her house and Clara went to get out. Danny moved to say his goodbyes but she shook her head.

"Not coming in?" He frowned a little.

"Am I invited in?" She smiled and nodded.

"Yes you are." He grinned and, too, got out of the taxi.

They got inside the door and Clara chucked her stuff down on the sofa. Danny looked around as he walked in.

"Nice place." She smiled.

"Thank you, it's small but cosy I think." He nodded. "Do you want anything? Drink?" He shook his head.

"No thank you, I'm good. But I think you should have a glass of water to clear your head or you're going to have a killer hangover in the morning." She laughed.

"You're probably right. Sit down, make yourself comfortable." He nodded and did so. She grabbed her water and then walked to sit beside him. "You know, you're the best new teacher that has joined Coal Hill in ages." He laughed.

"Umm, well thank you. Were the others that bad?" She nodded.

"Wait until you meet Christian. Teaches biology and smells of fish." Danny laughed.

"Wow thanks for the warning, I'll steer away from him." Clara nodded. It went quiet for a second and they both looked at each other, feeling suddenly compelled to one another. She put her glass down and laid back a little. His eyes didn't leave her. Without thinking she leaned in to kiss him. He hesitated but did the same. Their lips met softly. Clara then shook her head and pulled away.

"Should we do this?" Danny put his hand on her arm.

"Tonight has been the best evening I've had in years. I really like you." She went to kiss him again. "Only if you feel comfortable though." She giggled a little and nodded. She kissed him more deeply. He leant back a little letting her lay on his chest. As they kissed in each other's arms everything felt right. Like it had all fallen into place.

The next morning Clara woke to an empty bed. She rolled over to see where Danny was but then groaned when a sharp pain hit her head. She hadn't drunk that glass of water after all, now she regretted it. She closed her eyes again momentarily but opened them when she heard the bedroom door close. Danny walked back in slowly. She couldn't help but laugh when she saw he was wearing her dressing gown. It went up to his thighs and struggled to stay done up. He held his hands out and laughed.

"What? I had nothing else to put on." She laughed again.

"Nothing is fine by me." She winked and he laid back down next to her. He kissed her and smiled.

"Cheeky." She propped herself up on her elbow and leaned over to kiss him. It was then that she laid back down and put a hand to the side of her head.

"Hangover's arrived then?" She nodded. "I know what you need." He jumped out of bed and ran downstairs leaving her a little confused. Around ten minutes later he came running back in, grinning at the glass he had brought with him. Clara looked at the mushy cream coloured mixture and turned her nose up.

"Danny what the hell is that?!" He smiled and sat down.

"I learnt a lot of things in the army but how to get rid of a hangover fast was probably the most useful. Drink this. Trust me it works." She shook her head.

"No way! That looks disgusting!" He laughed. "What is even in that?!" He looked into the glass.

"I can't exactly remember now but there's definitely an egg." She moved away and took a deep breath in disgust.

"And that's supposed to help?" He nodded and moved the glass closer to her. She shook her head and jumped out of bed. The next thing he heard was her throwing up in the bathroom. It wasn't funny but he had to giggle a little bit.

She emerged a few minutes later looking rather pale.

"Are you okay?" She nodded and got back into bed.

"I will be if you get that glass away from me." She laughed a little.

"Okay, I won't make you drink it. I'd recommend it though." She looked at him and shook her head.

"Nope." He smiled and laid back down beside her.

"I guess we'll just have to chat instead then." She smiled at him.

"When was the last time you went on a date?" He frowned and paused to think.

"Years ago. With being away in Afghan I didn't have much time to find someone. What about you?"

"Embarrassingly, years ago too. Except I've got no excuse." He looked at her in shock.

"Seriously!? You've not been on a date in years?!" She nodded.

"Nope, why?" She laughed a little.

"Come on, look at you." She smiled at him.

"Was that a compliment?" He nodded.

"Yes, of course it was. Clara Oswald." She shook her head and laughed. She laid within his arms and she felt safe for the first time in years. As though his touch provided her protection. They'd only known each other for two weeks yet everything all felt so right.

Monday morning arrived and Danny knocked on Clara's classroom door. He strolled in making her smile.

"Good morning Miss Oswald."

"Good morning to you too, Mr Pink." They both smiled and then walked closer to each other.

"So are we pretending we aren't a thing? If you know what I mean? Or are we letting people know we're together?" She laid her arms around his neck and frowned.

"I hadn't thought of that. Maybe we should keep it quiet, not hide it but not exactly announce it either." He nodded in agreement.

"Sounds good to me." He kissed her softly. "Ooh and are you doing anything Thursday evening?" She smiled and shook her head.

"I'm guessing I am now." He nodded.

"I'm going to cook you a meal at mine. I've been to yours so now you need to come to see my place." She smiled and kissed him again.

"Sounds good. Can you actually cook though?" He laughed.

"No. Not really. But it'll be an adventure." She looked at him doubtfully.

"Whatever you say Mr Pink. Now off you go, you have an assembly to get to." He smiled and headed out of her class slowly. As he left Jess walked in. Clara and her got on really well, they both taught in the same department and seemed to have a laugh together. She walked to Clara's desk and gave her a look.

"Yes?" Clara questioned. Jess moved to sit on the front of her desk.

"Did I just see what I think I did?" She frowned but then the penny dropped.

"Please don't go spreading anything." She laughed.

"I won't, I won't. But Danny!? When did that happen?!" Clara bit her lip and got up to move some books. Jess stood up and stopped her. "Oh no no no no, you're not giving me that. I want the gossip." Clara laughed and sighed.

"Saturday night. That's when it happened." Jess stood with her mouth open in shock.

"Clara Oswald. No way. What happened exactly?!" Clara shut her classroom door in.

"He took me out for a meal and then we went back to mine." Jess giggled excitedly.

"You slept with him didn't you!?" Clara blushed a little.

"Maybeeeee."

"Oh my god, Clara!" She laughed at the shock on Jess's face.

"I know that sleeping with a guy on your first date is usually a recipe for disaster but this was different. It felt right." Now Jess smiled.

"I'm happy for you. He's a nice guy. And he's hot." She winked making Clara hit her on the arm gently.

"Yes he is. But no embarrassing him please." She laughed and nodded. There was a pause and then Jess sighed.

"Ahh, you've got someone now. And I'm still single." Clara smiled sympathetically.

"You'll find someone, give it time." She smiled back. "Still got your eye on Adrian?"

"He's not interested though." Clara shook her head.

"Leave that to me. I've become extremely good at making him do what I say." She winked at her. Jess smiled. She went to speak again when Adrian, speak of the devil, walked in the door. Jess stood up and straightened her skirt nervously. Clara chuckled a little. "Ade, what can I do for you?" He began to speak and Clara gave Jess a look. She nodded, understanding what she meant, and walked out of the room.

Clara arrived outside of Danny's house. She checked her watch as she waited for him to answer the door. It was like the first date all over again, she felt so nervous. He opened the door and looked just as nervous as she was.

"Hey." She smiled and stepped inside.

"Hey." He kissed her cheek. She handed him a bottle of champagne. 'I got this. Although I'm not planning on drinking as much as I did last time." He laughed and lifted it up to read the label.

"Thank you." He allowed her in and took her coat for her. "Sit down, anywhere you like." She did so slowly. He walked to get some glasses and then opened the bottle. He handed her the drink and say down beside her. Both of them looked at each other for a second and then laughed.

"Okay we both need to chill out. We're so nervous." He nodded.

"Good advice. Sorry, I'm not sure why I'm nervous." She smiled.

"Let me guess. Because you really like me and don't want to do anything stupid to put me off?" He sighed and nodded.

"Bang on." She smiled.

"I feel the exact same." He looked up.

"You like me then?"

"Of course I do!" He smiled.

"I'm glad about that." He leant in to kiss her but they both stopped immediately when the smoke alarm started to go off. Danny jumped up and groaned a little in frustration. He opened the oven and wafted the smoke away. Clara came over and stopped the alarm. Danny looked at the oven a little hopelessly. Clara laughed and kissed him quickly.

"Let me help you." He shook his head.

"This was meant to be your evening. I was going to cook for you, my treat." She laughed.

"I know and I appreciate that but, believe it or not, I would like to keep you in one piece." He sighed.

"Okay. You win."

"I know." She said as she looked in the oven to see what he had attempted to cook.

A while later they sat at the table eating what part of the meal could be salvaged from the oven.

"Despite that being the worst cooked meal in the history of cooked meals, that actually tasted quite good." Clara laughed and nodded.

"Surprisingly, it did. Not sure how though." He sighed and looked at her.

"Sorry, I wanted to make it special." She shook her head.

"Danny, the fact that you offered and tried to cook for me shows that you care. That's special enough for me. Don't worry about it."

Once food was finished they settled on the sofa with their drinks.

"So, what about your family then? Any siblings? Do they live nearby?" He asked her.

"Only child. Which was massively boring but I got more christmas presents so I suppose that's a perk." He laughed. "And my dad lives an hour away, so not too bad." He nodded.

"And your mum?" There was a pause. "Sensing I shouldn't have asked that? Sorry." She shook her head.

"No no it's okay... Umm, my mum died when I was 15, breast cancer." Danny sighed sympathetically.

"I'm sorry. 15, that must have been tough." She nodded.

"It was, it still is. But I'm here now, somehow we coped. What about you then?"

"Only child too, I think." She frowned a little in confusion. "And, to add to the upbeat conversation that I dug myself into, there are no parents." She smiled a little at him.

"What happened?" He sighed.

"I was put into a care home aged 4, never saw either of them again. Still don't know where they are today. I was thrown from one foster family to the next, none of them stuck for more than a year. Hence why I ran away to the army. It was an escape for me." She nodded and put her hand on his arm. "I don't know if I have siblings either. I was so young that they didn't think it was important for me to know."

"Have you ever tried to look?" He shook his head.

"I've always wanted to, but I don't know, I can't bring myself to do it." She nodded understandingly.

"Maybe one day. I'll help you if you ever need it." He smiled at that.

"I'll hold you to that. Army stuff too. I could do with telling someone about it. You know, to get it off of my chest. But I don't want to make you feel like I'm offloading everything at once. You don't need that." She shook her head.

"Danny, if there are things you want to say then you are welcome to. I'm here to listen any time, anywhere." He smiled again and kissed her softly.

"You're amazing, do you know that?" She grinned and kissed him back.

They spent the rest of the evening in each other's arms. They had known each other for a little less than three weeks yet it felt like it had been a life time. Danny felt relaxed for the first time in years. Like having someone there who understood him was what he had needed for so long. In that moment, everything was perfect.

 **Cutenessssss! Thank you for reading! Please leave reviews and ideas!x**


	7. Chapter 7- Moving In Day

**Heyyy, this one is cute :)**

 **Sorry about the ending...**

Moving in day

Clara smiled down at her phone as a message from Danny popped up.

" _Come to mine, I need help xxx_ " She giggled a little at the thought of what he could be doing. He had taken the day off of work to pack up his things so that he could move in with Clara but his planning had been shocking. It made her laugh at how unorganised he was, she had done most of it for him. Nevertheless, she grabbed her stuff and headed for her car.

She arrived not long after. As she walked towards the door she heard a loud shout followed by a crash from inside the house. She was pretty sure she heard a lot of swearing too.

"Danny?" She called through the front door. He eventually opened it looking rather flushed. "What happened?!" He sighed and let her come inside.

"I was trying to move boxes but I dropped one on my foot and all of it fell out on to the floor." She laughed at his sad face.

"Are you alright?" He nodded.

"Yeah, I've got another foot, I'll live." She laughed a little but then stopped when she saw blood dripping down his finger.

"Danny, your hand is bleeding..." He looked down with surprise.

"Dammit." He walked into the kitchen to clean it up. She laughed a little.

"Here, give it to me." He smiled a little. "This moving thing isn't going well is it." He shook his head. She smiled and kissed him softly. "Good job I'm here to help then." She patched up his finger, which was actually cut quite badly, and then helped him finish off packing up.

After an hour or so everything was in boxes and ready to go.

"Now to move it all to yours." She smiled widely and held his hand.

"I can't wait." He kissed her.

"Me neither, let's get going." She nodded and kissed him back.

"Wait, how are we going to take all of this to mine?" He looked at her with surprise.

"Oh, I didn't think about that. Why didn't I think about that?!" Clara placed her palm on her forehead and laughed.

"That would have been helpful Danny." He sighed.

"Shh okay. I'm not good at this stuff." She giggled and kissed his cheek.

"It's alright, we'll manage. We've got two cars we can put the boxes in and it's not far to come back for another load." He nodded and they began to pack up.

Later that evening both of them collapsed on the sofa. Clara looked over at the boxes and sighed.

"I never knew one guy could have so much stuff." He shrugged.

"I didn't know I had that much stuff either... Oops." She laughed.

"We'll have to find somewhere to put it all. You're not taking up my wardrobe space." He chuckled.

"Oh yes I am. And all of your bookshelves and the kitchen cupboards." She sighed.

"Looks like I'm stuck with you now." He smiled.

"I'm not going anywhere." She kissed him deeply.

"I don't want you to go anywhere." He kissed her back. She moved to sit on top of him as he kissed her neck softly. As they did, the doorbell rang making them stop with a start. Danny laughed when he realised who it was.

"Pizza." She shook her head and smiled. He got up to get it and brought it back to the sofa.

"Good timing eh?" She laughed and opened up the box.

"Not for that reason but I am starving." He nodded.

"Me too. Wine?" She smiled.

"Please. Call it our house warming."

The next day Danny grabbed some of the boxes to begin unpacking. Clara grabbed another. She ripped open the tape holding it closed but then paused when she saw what was inside. She picked up the photo album that was laying on the top and then sat down with it on her lap. She looked through the pictures with a smile on her face. Danny turned round and looked over to her. He noticed what she was looking at and then walked over.

"Don't look at those." He said with embarrassment. She giggled as his cheeks turned a slight shade of red.

"What are you wearing?!" She pointed and laughed at one picture of Danny in a chicken suit probably aged around 5. He laughed and sat beside her.

"My foster parents idea of Halloween I think." She giggled. She then turned the page and paused as she saw the next few pictures. Danny looked away a little after seeing ones of him during the army.

"Sorry, I'll put it away." He hesitated but then shook his head.

"No, no, it's okay."

"Sure? I don't want to-" He shook his head again.

"It's fine. I promise." She sighed and looked at them hesitantly. "I will tell you about the army one day. I will. There's just so many things to say, not all of them good."

"Danny it's okay, I get that it's hard for you to talk about. It's a sensitive subject. It's also your past, so you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. There's no rush." He nodded.

"I want to though. I feel like you deserve to know. You're the first person who has managed to make me happy since it all happened. I owe it to you to tell you." She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Just don't push yourself to say anything you aren't comfortable with, you don't need to do that." He kissed her on the cheek and nodded.

"Okay." She smiled.

After unpacking everything that needed to go downstairs they moved on to upstairs. Danny started to take his clothes out of the boxes and lay them on the bed. Clara laughed when she saw it.

"Why do you have so many of the same shirt?" He pushed her over slightly and sighed.

"I like that shirt. It's comfy and wasn't too expensive. So I went back and bought four of the same, one for each school day." She laughed.

"You're such a grandad." He looked at her with mock shock.

"Why a grandad?!"

"That's what my grandad used to do! Wear the same top each day but with a different pair of trousers." He laughed and kissed her head.

"Maybe that's the way forward. It saves getting up earlier to choose an outfit like you do." She smiled.

"But I look nicer than you do." He pushed her on to the bed.

"I'm not taking that!" She giggled as he laid close to her and kissed her cheek.

Danny begun to put his clothes in the wardrobe when Clara stopped him. "Danny you can't put them there. I need space too!" He shook his head.

"You've got space there!" She sighed.

"But that's not enough!" He put the clothes down and sat on the bed.

"Of all the things I need to move in, the wardrobe is the most difficult part eh?" She laughed and nodded.

"You can use the chest of draws too?" He nodded.

"Okay, fashionista." She smiled.

"Too right. Gotta look good, never know who I might meet." She winked.

"Nope, you're mine." They grinned at each other.

Later than evening they settled back down on the sofa together. Clara laid head on his chest as she checked through her phone. Suddenly she sat back up and looked at Danny.

"My dad wants to meet you." Danny smiled.

"What's so bad about that?" She sighed.

"The awkwardness, I hate it." He laughed.

"I'm sure we'll get on fine! Don't worry about it. When?"

"Tomorrow afternoon?" Danny nodded.

"Invite him round, we can cook dinner for him." Clara laughed a little.

"You mean I can cook dinner for him. I'm not trusting your cooking the first time you meet my dad." He pulled her into a hug and laughed.

"What is this? 'Verbally abuse Danny day'?" She nodded.

"You love it." He kissed her head.

The next afternoon arrived. Clara sat nervously on the sofa twiddling with her thumbs. Danny sighed as he walked into the room.

"It's going to be fine Clara! Stop worrying." She smiled a little.

"I know... I just want him to like you that's all." Danny smiled back at her.

"Well that's down to him, but I can promise you now, I'm not going to do anything to give him reason to not like me. No dribbling or playing with my food." She laughed a little. "But seriously, it will be fine. We'll have a nice evening. A nice meal and a chat. And then it will be over, nothing to stress about." She nodded, knowing that he was probably right. She was overthinking as usual. Just as he came to sit beside her the doorbell rang. Danny gave her a reassuring look and they both stood up. He let her walk slightly ahead to open the door first. Dave walked in and hugged Clara.

"Hi dad." He smiled.

"Hi! I brought this." He held a bottle of wine out to her which she smiled at.

"Thank you!" She closed the door and let Dave walk in to finally meet Danny. They walked towards each other and exchanged a handshake.

"Hi Mr Oswald. Lovely to meet you." Dave smiled.

"Oh call me Dave. It's Danny isn't it?" Danny nodded and smiled back.

"Yes, how are you?" They began to walk into the living room to sit down.

"I'm very well thank you. How about you?" Clara smiled as they initiated a conversation. Maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as she first expected? However, she did regret not telling Danny about the current 'Linda' situation. She had hoped it would be fine but now she wasn't so sure. She just prayed that Danny didn't ask anything like that.

Clara emerged from the kitchen after checking on the dinner to see Dave and Danny in deep conversation. She sat down next to Danny and placed her hand on his knee.

"What have I missed?" Danny shook his head.

"Not much, I was just telling Dave about getting the job at Coal Hill." Clara smiled.

"Ah right, best maths teacher around he is." Clara said making Danny laugh.

"I wouldn't go that far but thanks all the same." They all laughed.

"So Clara told me you were in the army beforehand?" Danny nodded.

"Yes, for six years. Afghan mainly. But I've toured in Syria and Iraq too." Dave nodded with interest.

"What was that like? Tough I assume?"

"It's certainly a different way of life, not one that you ever really get used to. It is tough but it's an experience. You get to see so so much, some good and some not so good." Dave smiled understandingly.

"What made you leave then?" Danny now hesitated. Clara cringed slightly at the question which Dave noticed. "Sorry, should I not have asked that?" Dave said slowly. Danny shook his head.

"Um, no no it's fine... Things happened, things that I don't ever ever want to relive. It was the right time to leave I think. And teaching was something that I always wanted to do so I took that route. I was lucky to get the first job I applied for." Dave now nodded, guessing that no more questions should be asked.

"Well at least the only threat from teaching is the odd flying textbook." They all laughed.

"Very true. In terms of danger, it's much less so." Clara smiled at them both. An awkward silence loomed so she improvised.

"Would you like to come to the table? Food shouldn't be long." They both nodded and followed her through. Clara ushered Danny to come with her into the kitchen. He did so and then leant against the worktop as she looked into the oven.

"Sorry about that Danny. I should have told him not to ask that." Danny shook his head.

"It's alright. He didn't mean it in a bad way." Clara nodded and smiled. "I like him. He seems really nice." Now she smiled more widely.

"Good, I'm glad. I can tell he likes you too."

"Should I open what he bought?" Clara nodded so Danny grabbed some glasses and began to pour it.

Danny headed in to give Dave his drink and then, a few minutes later, Clara followed with the food. They all sat and ate, immersed in chatter. Clara smiled lightly. The evening had gone so much better than she expected. Danny and Dave got on like a house on fire, they had much more in common than expected. For now anyway.

The conversation didn't slow until Danny asked one of the questions she was dreading.

"So, how about you Dave? Do you have a partner?" Dave nodded.

"Yes, I have a girlfriend, Linda."

"How long have you been together?"

"A little over seven years now." Clara said nothing, she just looked down at her plate. Danny looked to her and frowned.

"How come you never mentioned Linda? She could have come along tonight." Silence spread around the table. Clara looked up after a pause.

"Umm... Me and Linda. We don't exactly see eye to eye." Dave sighed. The look on his face one of frustration and upset. Danny didn't know whether to ask more or to change the subject. Dave, luckily, spoke so that he didn't have to make a decision.

"Maybe you should talk it over Clara? It's been so long now. Can't you make it up?" Her head shot up.

"You know fully well what I think." Dave shook his head.

"But please. Just speak to her. She's done nothing wrong."

"What?! How can you even say that?! I'm your daughter! You've seen what she's done over the years yet you can't admit it?" Dave shook his head again. Danny looked at Clara, shocked at her change in mood. Dave, however, didn't seem surprised about the outburst.

"I didn't mean it like that Clara. I just think that you should try to move on." She stood up and walked away from the table.

"Maybe if you stopped focusing on her for once and thought about me then you'd know how I feel. After everything that happened with mum you never once took my side! It was always Linda! Can't you see what she's done to me?!" Dave now stood up too.

"Clara please, calm down." She shook her head, tears welling in her eyes.

"No, you need to leave." He went to protest but she stopped him. "No, just go. I'll speak to you soon. This is too much." He sighed, grabbed his coat and left.

Once he was clear out of sight Clara let the tears fall. She leant on the wall beside her and sobbed. Danny ran over to her and held her close.

"Hey hey, it's okay. I am so so sorry." He held her until the tears slowed a little and she moved to sit on the sofa.

"It's not your fault Danny." He sighed.

"Yes it is. I shouldn't have asked the question." She shook her head.

"You couldn't have known. I should have told you before." He kissed her head.

"No don't worry about that. But I have to say, I am a little confused. What's the issue with Linda?" Clara wiped her eyes and pulled her legs up to her chest.

"It's a really long story." Danny nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She hesitated but then nodded. He let her speak in her own time.

"As my dad said, they've been together for years. When she first met my dad we were still struggling with coming to terms with the fact that mum was gone and wasn't coming back. She seemed to make him happy. He seemed more himself when he was with her. For a while, I liked that. It was nice to see him happy for once but then she decided to move in." She paused. "She thought that the best thing for me was to have a 'motherly figure' in my life. All she ever tried to do was replace mum and I hated that. Still do. Over the years she has done so much to upset me. Said horrible things about me and to me. My dad seems to be oblivious to it." Danny nodded. "Things got really bad... I did things that I really shouldn't have done, things that still hurt me to think about today. I was in a place that I never want to go back to. Ever." The tears started to fall again so he held her hand supportively.

"What happened?" She looked at him.

"Do you really want to know?" He nodded.

"Yes. I might be able to help you. I know what it feels like to be so low that there seems to be no way back up. Trust me." She sighed.

"I went out to a party, I got drunk, I slept with a random guy and was then found by the police unconscious by the side of the road 16 hours later. I was rushed to hospital with alcohol poisoning. The doctors said it was a suicide attempt. But I don't think it was. It was more of a cry for help... Anyway, after it all happened I opened up to my dad. Properly for the first time in years. I told him what Linda had said and done and he said that he would sort it out. He told me not to worry, that it would all be okay. But he did nothing. I got better, was discharged and then I got home to see her still there. Everything continued right in front of his eyes and he just stood there watching me break into pieces." Danny found tears welling in his eyes now. Such emotion was pouring out of Clara that he couldn't help but feel it too.

"Why didn't he help you?" She shrugged.

"I don't know. I honestly don't. I guess it was because she was the first person to make him happy again after mum. And that she is manipulative... But I don't know. We resolved it as much as we could. We're okay normally. We just don't speak about her when we're together. But don't feel bad for asking today, that's not your fault. What I said needed to be said. It had been building up for a while. In a way, you helped me to say it." He shook his head and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so so sorry for everything you've been through. You don't deserve one bit of it. I love you so much." He held her tighter than he ever had before as though a newfound empathy had taken over him.

She laid in his arms feeling rather melancholy after the events of the evening. A little later she sat back up and looked at him.

"You said that you know how it feels to be so depressed that you can't see a way out." He nodded slowly, not surprised that she had brought up the topic.

"I do, unfortunately. But I also know that the best way to move on from it is to be with the people you love. You have brought out the happiness in me Clara. I don't know what I would do without you. Our relationship is what brought me out of those dark days. I'm eternally thankful for that." She kissed him softly.

"I won't let you feel like that ever again. I promise." He smiled.

"I won't let you either. But, promise me one thing?" She nodded. "Let me help you. I stuck my foot in it today, I know I did, but I want to make sure that your relationship with your dad is okay. I think it's important that it's okay, you'd miss him if it wasn't. If Linda is always going to be a no go area then that's fine, but don't let it define your relationship with your dad. He can't help who he falls in love with to a certain extent." She thought for a second, letting what he had said sink in and then smiled.

"Okay. I promise." He kissed her. "Now, before we get comfortable, I'm going to go and get changed out of my shirt." She grinned.

"I'll come with you." He laughed and kissed her again, more deeply this time. They ran upstairs and jumped into the bed in each other's arms. Clara undid his shirt for him making him smile. "There you go, comfortable?" He nodded and kissed her again. Whilst laying in his arms all of the worry and upset went away.

 **Thank youuuu for reading! Please leave a review, I love to know what you think. And I'm open to any ideas you'd like to see!x**


	8. Chapter 8- Dilemma

**Heyyyyy, I hope you enjoy!**

Dilemma

Danny watched Clara walk into the school a metre or two ahead of him. He'd spoken to her a few times but that was so many times less than he wanted. He liked her, he really liked her, but he hadn't yet built up the courage to put himself forwards. Every time he tried something seemed to get in the way.

She headed straight to her classroom and set her things down. She walked towards the wall to check her timetable and sighed when she saw what she had next. A double lesson with year 11s. She sat down and opened up her laptop, smiling a little when she saw Danny walk past and look inside the door in the reflection of the screen. He fancied her. That much was clear. Somehow she guessed he wasn't very good at hiding his feelings. She liked that though. She had meant to speak to him more but hadn't yet gotten round to it.

Her class filed in and Clara got straight on with teaching Pride and Prejudice, which all of the students seemed to hate. As the lesson progressed she noticed that one of her, usually, most keen students was rather distant. Clara walked over to make sure she was okay.

"Charlotte, are you alright?" She spoke quietly so not to make a fuss. Charlotte nodded slowly but couldn't hold back the tears that built up in her eyes. Clara frowned. "Are you sure?"

"I- I don't know." Clara crouched down beside her and smiled.

"Well you are welcome to talk to me about it if you feel comfortable, only if you want to though. I'm always here." Tears started to fall down her cheeks now so Clara stood back up and sighed. "Come with me for a minute." Charlotte followed Clara outside the classroom. She began to wipe at her cheeks to stop the tears so Clara grabbed her a tissue.

"Sorry miss." Clara smiled.

"Don't be sorry, it's completely okay to be upset. What's up? Do you want to talk about it?" Charlotte nodded.

"It's kinda personal..." Clara smiled again.

"That's okay, what's said here stays here. I won't tell anyone. Take all the time you need." She took a deep breath and then started to speak.

"My mum... She collapsed yesterday. She's, she's got cancer. And I don't know what to do. I can't lose her." At that moment Clara's heart sunk. She knew what this felt like. To be so young and scared but at the same time feeling like you have to be brave.

"Hey, she'll be fine! I know it seems like she won't now because it's so fresh in your mind but trust me." Charlotte shook her head.

"No she won't miss. It's... Its terminal. She's got weeks." Clara sighed, slightly regretting what she had just said.

"Oh Charlotte. I'm so so sorry." She wiped away her tears again and shook her head.

"It's alright, it's not your fault." Clara hesitated, she didn't really know what to say. She had so much empathy for Charlotte but there was a limited amount of involvement she could have.

"You know that you can talk to me anytime at all yeah? As I said earlier, I'm always here. Come and sit in my class for some quiet time if you need, or just come and have a chat to get things off your mind. Don't feel like you're being a burden or anything because you're not. I'm here to help. I want to help you. You're a lovely girl, one who doesn't deserve this at all." Charlotte smiled a little.

"Thank you miss." Clara smiled back.

"That's alright. I'm going to go back inside but you can stay out here for as long as you need." She nodded.

One week later

Clara hadn't heard from Charlotte again since the first time they spoke. She knew that she had been off school for a few days, understandingly so, but Clara couldn't stop worrying about her. It had brought back so many memories of her mum and when she found out about her illness. She wanted to help her so badly but she didn't really know how. Talking to her and supporting her was really the only way she could.

That lunchtime Charlotte walked in to her classroom. Clara noted immediately that she looked exhausted and very unhappy.

"Hello you. Come and sit down." She nodded and did so. "I won't ask you how you are as I can tell you're not from your face." Charlotte wiped away her tears and laughed a little.

"Good, I'm sort of fed up of that question now. I mean it's not like my mum is dying or anything." Once she finished speaking she looked back up guiltily. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." Clara shook her head.

"No, that's okay. I know it's frustrating and unfair. I know how you feel." Charlotte nodded and grabbed a tissue.

"You do?" She nodded back before hesitating.

"There's something that a lot of people don't know about me, but I'm going to tell you because it may help you to know... I lost my mum to cancer when I was 19, so not much older than you. I know exactly how you feel." Charlotte looked at her, seeming to feel comfortable that someone else had experienced the same as her. "You feel upset, lonely, angry. It's a whole mix of feelings. But worse of all you worry about how you'll cope when she's not there for you anymore. Am I right?" Charlotte nodded.

"Spot on." Clara smiled gently.

"I think what's important to remember is that feeling in that way is okay. You're allowed to be angry, sad and, frankly, terrified. It would be odd if you weren't." She shook her head.

"But my dad. I have to be strong for my dad." Clara sighed, that was a feeling she knew all too well.

"You don't need to be strong for anyone Charlotte. Your wellbeing and feelings matter too. It is going to be so difficult for your dad but he's going to want to help you. I made that mistake. I hid my feelings from my dad as I felt like it would upset him more but, looking back on it, that was the worst thing to do as he was feeling she same as I was. Talking brings you together and makes things slightly easier, bottling everything up isn't what you should do. Take that from me." She nodded but then paused.

"Can I ask you a question?" Clara nodded.

"Of course."

"How did you cope? After you lost your mum, I mean." Clara sighed.

"I'll be honest with you. For a while I didn't cope very well at all. I did things that I regret and shouldn't have done. But that was due to bottling things up. If I had spoken to someone about how I felt then things would have been easier. Eventually, as hard as it is, you start to accept that she's gone and that the life you have now, no matter how much you want it or don't want it, is the life that you have. So you just have to put your head down and get the hell on with it. That's not me making it sound easy, no way. It's the hardest thing I've ever ever had to do. But after a while the memories you have left of her are happy ones and you remember her for the good things rather than the bad things that you saw and experienced at the end. You'll always miss her, always, I still do everyday. But she never leaves you." She put her hand to her chest. "She's always in here, in your heart. No one can take that away from you." Charlotte nodded and grabbed another tissue.

"So you're okay with it now? You don't feel upset now?" Clara shook her head.

"Obviously I wish she could be here now and I miss her more than anything but it doesn't make me upset anymore. The anniversary is hard and it's hard when you have to talk about it but, trust me, you will get through whatever is to come. And at the end of the day, I know that no matter what I do, no matter where I am my mum would want me to be happy. The same with your mum. This is going to be painful for her too but the biggest thing she will wish for is that you are happy and have a fantastic life ahead of you. I didn't want to deprive my mum of that wish so I pushed on. It gave me the motivation I needed to get through it." Charlotte smiled a little, what Clara had said seeming to settle her.

"Thank you miss." Clara smiled.

"That's alright. Any time. Have you told your friends what's going on?" She shook her head slowly.

"No. I don't know how to. I don't think I can." Clara sighed.

"I know it's hard to find the words to say it but I think you would feel better if they knew. You'd have someone else to speak to and they'd give you so much support. It's all very well talking to your English teacher but having someone your ages' opinion may help you." Charlotte nodded.

"Okay, I will. Thank you miss, I'm gonna go back outside now." Clara smiled.

"Off you go." They gave each other another smile before she left the class. Once she was gone Clara sat back at her desk and sighed. She wanted to help Charlotte, she really did, but it was bringing back so many memories of things she hated to think about. She sat there for a while longer until her thoughts were distracted by the bell for the afternoon lessons sounded.

At the end of the day she grabbed her things and started to walk to her car. Danny strolled behind her. His heart began to beat faster. Come on go speak to her, he told himself. He took a deep breath and then jogged up to her.

"Hi." Clara smiled, glad to see him despite her melancholy mood.

"Hey, are you alright?" Danny nodded and then hesitated. "Is something the matter?" He looked back at her and shook his head quickly.

"No! No, not at all. I, umm. I just wanted to ask you something..." She smiled. She knew what was coming but she thought she'd stay quiet and see if he managed to get the words out.

"Of course." He smiled awkwardly.

"I was thinking, well wondering, if you would... If you would like to, I mean don't if you don't want to, you can say no..." She giggled.

"I'd love to come for a drink with you Danny." He looked at her with surprise.

"How did you know I was-?"

"Lucky guess?" He now smiled.

"Okay, well in that case, I'll see you very soon. Have a nice evening Miss Oswald." She smiled gently. Something about him made her so happy.

"Yes, you too Mr Pink." He smiled back at her and headed across the carpark to his car.

As she sat in her car the melancholia faded for a second. She had waited so long for Danny to speak to her again. Albeit, she could have spoken to him first but something kept stopping her. She was so glad that it had finally happened. There was something about him that filled her with happiness. He made her feel whole again, and that was something that no one could usually do.

Charlotte wasn't in for the whole next week of school. Clara had checked with reception to see if she had left a message as to why she wasn't in but there was nothing. Deep down she knew why she was off, she just didn't want to think that it was true. It was so so unfair. And Charlotte didn't deserve one bit of it.

Clara was distracted all day. She couldn't seem to focus on anything. She was worried about Charlotte and her date with Danny was that evening. Danny made her so happy but she couldn't help being nervous for it. When the end of the day rolled around she was disturbed by a knock at the door. She grinned, hiding any feeling of sadness she felt.

"Hey." He smiled and walked towards her after shutting the door behind him.

"So, you still okay for tonight?" She nodded.

"Definitely." He smiled again.

"7, I'll pick you up." She giggled a little.

"Where are we going exactly?" He shrugged.

"You'll have to wait and see." She sighed.

"Dannyyy." He shook his head.

"Nope, you'll have to wait. I'll see you later." He walked out of the class before she could say anymore.

He picked her up at 7 on the dot. She walked to her door nervously, checking herself in the mirror as she did so. She opened it to see Danny stood there looking nervous, but very smart. He looked at her, rather speechless.

"You look... You look incredible." She blushed a little.

"Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek to which he returned the same. She then grabbed her bag and her jacket and followed him to his car.

They arrived at a beautiful restaurant. Danny led her in and showed her to their table.

"This is lovely Danny. I didn't even know this was here." He smiled.

"Not many people do, it's nice though. I thought it would be perfect for tonight."

After lots of amazing food, wine and conversation Danny drove her back home. When they arrived back at hers he switched off the engine and turned to face her.

"Thank you for tonight. I really enjoyed myself." He said. She smiled.

"I'm the one who should be saying thank you Danny, thank you for organising it all. I loved it."

"You're welcome. Is this something you'd like to do again?" He said innocently making her laugh.

"I think I could force myself too." She winked at him. They then both went silent. Danny looked into her eyes and hesitated before moving slightly closer to her. She did the same. Their lips slowly met and they kissed deeply. They pulled apart and smiled. "I would ask you to come in but I don't know if-" He shook his head.

"I like you Clara. I really like you. I think we should do this properly." She nodded in agreement.

"Me too." He smiled and got out of the car to open her door for her. He walked her to her front door and kissed her on the cheek.

"Goodnight Clara Oswald." She rolled her eyes at the use of her full name.

"Goodnight Danny Pink." They smiled at each other.

The next few days passed slowly. Danny was clearly very pleased with himself. He had been so good to Clara as well, so sweet. She, however, felt rather under the weather. The last lesson of the day came around and Clara noted that it was Charlotte's class. She watched them filter in without seeing her. Suddenly, a minute or so after everyone else, Charlotte came running in. She sat down quickly and smiled slightly at Clara. She noticed how drained she looked. It reminded her of how she felt after her mum. It could only be bad news.

At the end of the lesson Clara asked Charlotte to stay behind. She knew what the news was as soon as she looked at her face.

"It's happened hasn't it?" Tears began to roll down her face as she nodded gently. Clara walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. They then sat down on the table next to them. "I know it sounds like a stupid question, but how are you coping?" Charlotte shrugged.

"I feel so empty. Tears just fall down my cheeks now and I don't even notice that I'm crying. I thought I'd feel sad, angry even. But I don't. I feel nothing. I just feel numb." Clara nodded.

"I know the feeling. When did it happen?"

"Last Monday."

"What about your dad? Have you spoken to him? How's he coping?" She wiped her eyes and sighed.

"He's not spoken to me. I haven't seen him for a week. He went away to one of his friends apparently. So my grandma is staying at home with me. I heard her on the phone having a go at him last night, telling him to come home and that he should be here to look after me. But I don't think it made any difference." Clara sighed, feeling a huge deal of empathy.

"It's tough right?" She nodded so Clara put her arm around her.

"Your dad will come round. He's feeling exactly the same as you right now but he's chosen to cope with it in a different way to you. Everyone copes with grief differently. But trust me, it will settle down soon and he'll come back. It will also become easier to comprehend. It will never not be a painful part of your life but it will start to become less difficult."

"It doesn't feel that way right now." Clara nodded.

"I know it doesn't, believe me, I know. But it will. Trust me on that. It's going to take a lot of bravery and a lot of strength. Sometimes you'll feel like giving up but I know that you can do this. You're strong. There's so much more left of life, so much more that you will go on to achieve to make your mum the proudest mum out there." Charlotte smiled a little as she grabbed a tissue. Clara stood up and walked to her desk. "Now why don't you go and have a chat to your friends? Have a bit of a laugh." She nodded and collected her things together.

"Thank you so much miss." Clara smiled.

"No problem. As I said, any time." Charlotte went to walk out but Clara stopped her just before she did so. "Hey, chin up." They shared a smile.

Clara sat down at her desk and put her head in her hands. She suddenly came over extremely emotional. She felt so strongly towards Charlotte's situation and could empathise with it so deeply. Charlotte reminded her too much of herself and it made her so upset to watch. Tears began to fall down Clara's cheeks and, unlike usual, she made no effort to stop them. She sat for a while in silence. It was only when Danny walked into the room that she stood up and wiped her eyes. He walked towards her happily, being his normal unobservant self. As he got closer his expression changed from a smile to a look of concern.

"What's up!?" She shook her head as tears fell down her cheeks.

"I'm fine." He shook his head back at her.

"No, I'm taking you home. And then I'm looking after you because you're clearly not okay, no matter how well you try to me convince me otherwise." He kissed her head and then went to his class to grab his things.

He drove her home and then made a cup of tea as she got herself comfortable on the sofa. He walked over and sat down next to her quietly. She stared ahead of her without saying a thing. He didn't know whether to ask or not. Their relationship was still so young, he didn't want to step out of line. After a few more seconds he plucked up the courage.

"What's wrong Clara?" She looked at him, tears still filling her eyes. "I want to help you. I hate seeing you like this." She sighed.

"There's so much you don't know." He picked up one of her hands.

"Then tell me. Talk to me, please?" She nodded.

"Okay, but it's not going to be very cheery." He smiled a little.

"That doesn't matter. Take your time." She nodded again.

"When I was 19 I lost my mum. Cancer." His expression became more concerned. "It was the worst and lowest time in my life. I hated every second of it. It still hurts me to think about it today, I miss her so much. Usually I'm okay but today..." He nodded and stroked her arm.

"I'm so so sorry Clara." He paused. "What happened today?" She sighed again.

"You know Charlotte, year 11?" He nodded. "You've probably noticed her absent the last few weeks. Her mum has just passed away with terminal cancer. Just like mine. I've been trying my best to hold it all together to help her and to support her but it's so hard. I keep trying to tell her the small positives of the situation and that it will be okay in the end but I completely get how she feels, like there's no point in carrying on." He turned her head to face him.

"Clara, the fact that you've even bothered to reach out and help her will mean enough to her. I'm sure that whatever you've said has made a difference. Sometimes even knowing that someone is there for you can make you feel better. You've definitely given her that. But it's absolutely fine to feel upset about your mum. It's brought up memories?" She nodded. "Losing your mum has got to be the hardest thing ever, but you're so brave. I know you are. Passing on your advice to someone is a great thing to do, you should feel proud of that." She smiled a little. "And I know that you don't like to show emotion, I can tell that from the how you pretended you were fine earlier. But, sometimes Clara Oswald, sometimes it's okay to bring your guard down and feel upset. You're entitled to that." She smiled again.

"I suppose I am."

"You are indeed. And now I'm going to make you dinner and stay with you until that cheeky smile has come back. I want to make sure you're okay."

"Thank you Danny. You don't have to." He shook his head.

"No, I insist. I'm not leaving you when you're like this. It's not fair." She leant in and kissed him deeply, taking him by surprise. She giggled.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it." He shook his head and laughed before kissing her back. They stayed in each other's arms for a while, Clara feeling protection from his grasp. After a few minutes she looked up at him. "Don't go home tonight. Stay here?" He gave her a surprised look.

"What? Are you sure?" She nodded.

"It's the weekend tomorrow and I'd like some company I think." He now smiled.

"Okay. I'd love to." He kissed her again. She smiled at him as he got up to make some food. As he got into the kitchen he punched the air and cheered a 'yes' of achievement to himself. He then smiled happily. He realised then that he hadn't felt this happy in months. He was determined to make sure that Clara was okay again, he wanted nothing more.


	9. Chapter 9- Miscommunication

**...**

Mixed messages

"Morning."

"Morning." Clara laid in bed with her phone to her ear happily.

"Sleep well?" She nodded.

"Yes thank you. You?" He smiled.

"Would have been better if you were here." She laughed.

"Come to mine?"

"What, now?" She smiled.

"Yeah. I know it's kinda early but we can make the most of the day." He hesitated but then agreed.

"Okay, I'll see you soon."

"Okay. Use the spare key so that I don't have to get up." He laughed.

"Will do." She hung up and snuggled back into bed.

Twenty minutes later she heard the front door unlock. She pushed her hair back behind her ears and sat up slightly to see him as he walked in. As the door opened he smiled a little at her laying there.

"Morning again." She smiled and kissed him as he laid next to her. He kissed her back and smiled a little. "Are you alright?" He nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." She smiled back, not quite believing him.

"Okay, well I'm glad you came round." He nodded.

"So am I." She kissed him deeply and moved closer to him. He kissed her back but he didn't move as she had expected him to so she pushed herself slightly on top of him. He shook his head and pulled away. She frowned.

"What's wrong?" He shook his head again.

"Nothing. I just-" She kissed his cheek and laid on his chest. "I'm sorry." She shook her head without looking at him.

"I can tell something is up. You can talk to me you know." He sighed.

"I'm fine honestly. I just don't feel like it." She nodded and stayed laying on his chest. She was determined to find out what was wrong, it was becoming very suspicious.

Later on Clara sat down beside Danny on the sofa who had been absentmindedly watching the tv. She kissed his cheek and smiled.

"Fancy doing something today?" He shrugged.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. We could go out for lunch? Or go for a walk? Cinema?" He sighed.

"Umm, can we do it next weekend instead?" She sighed.

"Okay, if you want. Why?" He stood up quickly.

"There's something I need to do." He smiled gently at her and then grabbed his coat. He left through the door without another word. Clara sat on the sofa for another few minutes. What was going on with him? She was starting to get worried.

The next day they were both back at work. Danny had been quiet all morning and Clara still hadn't managed to get through to him. He didn't come to see her at lunchtime either. Curious as to why not, she went to find him. As she got to his room she heard Danny's voice. There was another voice too. A woman. Jess, the new maths teacher. Clara placed who it was. She went to walk inside but stopped herself when she heard them laughing together. She sighed and walked back to her room.

Danny came to see her at the end of the day which she was glad of.

"Hey." She smiled at him.

"Hey. Good day?" He nodded and walked in to sit on her desk.

"Yeah, you?" She nodded back. "What do you think of the new maths teacher then?" Danny smiled.

"Jess? She's great. I think she'll be a good part of the team." Clara nodded back.

The week rolled past. Danny had been distant the whole time and Clara was no closer to finding out what was wrong. Clara headed for her classroom but slowed a little when she saw Jess and Danny together, for the 5th time that week.

"Morning Mr Pink." He smiled widely back at her.

"Good morning Miss Hart." They then became immersed in conversation. Clara sighed and walked into her class. She felt bad for feeling jealous but she couldn't help it. Danny had hardly spoken to her in a week and now that the new teacher had started he hadn't even been to see her in her room as he always did.

Another week went by and Clara still said nothing. She felt as though it wasn't her business to say anything. It definitely was but she didn't want to bring it up and seem unfair. At the end of the day she packed up her things and then headed to Danny's classroom. As she got closer to his door she heard Jess speaking to him again. She resisted groaning in frustration and stood by the door just out of their eye line for a while.

"So Mr Pink. What are you up to this weekend?" She spoke flirtatiously. Danny hesitated. It was as though he didn't know what to say back.

"Umm, not a lot really." She giggled and walked closer to him. He pulled away a little. Clara couldn't see Danny from where she was standing, only Jess leaning closer to him. She suddenly moved forwards and kissed him. He immediately stood up and moved away from her. As he did Clara showed herself at the door. Tears filled her eyes as she watched them together. Danny shook his head and walked towards her.

"Clara it's not what it looks like." She shook her head as tears began to fall down her cheeks.

"I know what I saw Danny! I hope you're happy together!" She turned round and ran down the corridor. Danny cursed under his breath.

"What the hell did you do that for!?" She shook her head.

"I didn't know she was there!"

"And that makes it alright does it!? Clara is my girlfriend. I love Clara. What makes you think I'd go behind her back?!" Jess shook her head again.

"Oh come on! You wanted it. I can tell you did." He stepped back and attempted to keep his cool.

"Don't you dare say that. You stay away okay!?" Danny grabbed his coat and his phone and ran out in the same direction as Clara.

He got out to the carpark and scanned the area.

"Clara!" He called out for her. He sighed and put a hand to his head. "Where is she." He said to himself. After a second of thought he knew where she was. The park. She always went there when she was upset. He knew her well enough to know that.

He ran there as fast as he could not caring about how cold he was. When he arrived he saw her sat on the swings, gently rocking herself backwards and forwards. He walked up to her slowly but she stood back up immediately.

"Go away! I don't want to see you!" He sighed.

"Clara, please! Let me explain!" She shook her head.

"There isn't anything to explain! You've been close for the last month! You've kissed each other!" He shook his head back at her.

"No! She made the move on me! I pushed her away as soon as she did it, I promise I did!" Clara started to walk away from him. "Please! I love you, only you. I've been with her a lot because she's new, I've been helping her to settle in. I never thought this would happen!" Clara shook her head again and ran off in the direction of her flat. He sighed and eventually followed her.

She got back a good few minutes before her so locked the door from the inside. He grabbed the spare key and tried to open it but sighed when he knew there was no way of getting inside.

"Clara? Clara! Please let me in! Let me explain!" No answer. "Please, I'm so sorry." After another few minutes he sat down on the ground with his back to the door. Little did he know that Clara was sat on the bottom step of the stairs listening to him. "I can't put into words how sorry I am. I love you Clara. I love you so much and I'd never do anything to upset you." He paused. "This is all such a mess. I promise you, she made the move on me. If I led her on then I did it unknowingly. Please forgive me? I'm so sorry." There was silence. After a minute or two he stood back up and sighed. He walked away from her front door. As he did, she opened the door slowly making him turn round. Neither of them said anything. After a pause she led him inside.

"I am so sorry Clara." She nodded.

"You've said. About five times now." He sighed. "Why did you do it?" He shook his head.

"I didn't. I didn't mean for it to happen. She came onto me and I couldn't stop her. I pulled away as soon as it happened. I didn't know you were watching." She scoffed.

"Oh so if I hadn't have been watching you'd have carried on? Is that what you mean?" He shook his head immediately.

"No! Of course not. I never would. Never." She paused.

"How can I be sure of that?"

"You'll just have to trust me. Trust that I love you too much to do that."

"You've been off with me for a month now, what's going on?" He shook his head.

"Nothing! Nothing I promise!" She stood up and walked towards the window. He did the same.

"Danny you've hardly spoken to me! Avoided me when you can! If you've not been having an affair then what have you been doing!?" He shook his head, starting to get agitated now.

"That's not what's happened at all! I never would!" She turned away from him.

"Then what's wrong Danny!? What's been going on!?"

"I- I can't explain it." She groaned in frustration.

"Why not!? I'm your girlfriend, you know you can tell me anything! Am I not enough?!" He sighed and looked to the ground.

"I know... Just not this." She shook her head.

"Fine, then leave it!" He didn't leave her as she had expected him to. "What are you waiting for?"

"For you to calm down so we can talk properly." She laughed a little.

"Can you really blame me for being angry!? Just tell me what's going on! If you're having an affair then I'd like to know about it, stop hiding things Danny!" He paused for a second and then everything flooded out.

"I'm not having an affair!" She shook her head, not believing him.

"Then tell me what's going-!"

"I've been called back to the army!" He yelled slightly louder than he had expected to. Clara stood there, stunned.

"Danny I-" He shook his head as his eyes filled with tears. He then turned around and ran out of the front door. Clara stood for a minute not really knowing what to do. She then grabbed her coat and followed him.

She found him sat on the swings in the park they been in earlier. He had been crying but was trying his best to hide it. She sat beside him slowly, hesitant to say anything.

"When I said I would never cheat on you, I meant it. Now you know the truth." She nodded a little, guilt beginning to drown her.

"If I had known... I'm so sorry. I-" He shook his head.

"I know you're sorry. As am I. I think we both know that." She nodded.

"Danny, tell me how I fix this." He sighed and looked at her for a second.

"I honestly don't know." It was then that he let everything go. Tears began to fall down his cheeks and his hands shook with stress. She immediately stood up and held him in her arms, ignoring her own tears that were falling.

"Let me take you home? We can talk there, where it's warmer." He nodded and took her hand. They walked back in silence.

He sat on the sofa in silence. Tears rolled down her cheeks with guilt. Why had she been so quick to judge? Why had she acted with such haste? After a while of silence it became unbearable.

"Danny, talk to me. Please?" He sighed and sat back. She moved to be more upright and looked at him anxiously.

"What do you want to know?" She held his hand.

"When were you asked?" He took a deep breath.

"Start of the month. I didn't know how to react. I'm sorry. I should have just told you. Now it's all such a mess." She shook her head.

"That's okay, don't worry about that. It's your choice to tell me, it's not an obligation. I'm the one in the wrong here, not you."

"I don't blame you for thinking the worst. I've been insensitive." She shook her head again.

"Not that though. I should never have assumed that. I know you'd never do it." He smiled gently and picked up her hands. They both sat back in silence again. "Do you want to talk more tonight?" He shook his head.

"No. Just stay with me. I want you here. I've missed you." She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I've missed you too. I love you so much." He kissed her head.

"I love you too, unconditionally."

 **Sorry that was sadder than expected... next chapter will be happier! :)**


	10. Chapter 10- Christmas Time

**Sorry this is a little late. Christmas has been and gone so quickly :( I hope you all had a good one x**

Christmas Time

Clara smiled gently as she woke to see Danny looking at her.

"Merry Christmas beautiful." It was Christmas morning and, for the first year ever, they had the whole day to themselves. Danny kissed her softly. "Merry Christmas." She smiled. She kissed him back.

"I'm excited." He laughed and kissed her again.

"You should be."

"Can we do presents now?" He laughed again.

"You just can't wait can you." She shook her head.

"Presents in bed?" He grinned and nodded. Both of them got up to grab each other's presents from where they had been hiding them. Clara laughed as Danny reached to the top of the wardrobe to get his.

"Best hiding place. You can't reach it or see it." He winked and laughed.

"Oi you! Well I put mine behind the washing basket because you never go near it." She laughed.

"Okay, payback." They both got back into bed and swapped presents one at a time.

They both opened a few of each and then Danny stopped a little. She smiled at him.

"What's up?" He shrugged and shook his head.

"Nothing. I just really hope you like this one." She smiled, placed her hands on his cheeks and kissed him softly.

"I'll love whatever you give me Danny." He laughed a little.

"Go on then, I can't take the suspense." He winked. She picked up the present and opened it slowly. She removed the paper to see a box. She frowned and opened it. Suddenly she gasped and jumped forwards into his arms.

"DANNY!" He laughed.

"That hit the spot then." She grinned widely and giggled a little.

"Is this real?!" He nodded and laughed.

"Yep. Venice. February. One week." She kissed him and giggled again.

"I love you so much. I can't believe you did this!" He smiled and kissed her back.

"It's all you wanted. How could I not?" She smiled and kissed him again.

"I feel like my presents for you can't top that now." He shook his head and smiled.

"Don't be silly." They continued to open the last few.

Once they had got dressed they headed downstairs. Clara kissed Danny as they sat down on the sofa.

"I'm so glad we have the day to ourselves." He nodded.

"Me too. We should make the most of it. What do you feel like doing?" She paused to think.

"I don't know? What about you?" He smiled and grabbed a leaflet off of the table next to him.

"There's a panto on in town, we could see that and then get a nice meal?" She smiled and nodded.

"I like the sound of that." He kissed her head and let her lay into him.

"I guess going out means we need to change out of our tracksuit bottoms, eh?" She giggled and nodded.

"You can wear the shirt I got you?" He nodded back.

"Yeah, good idea. And you, you're going to let me choose your outfit." She looked at him hesitantly.

"Are you sure-" He laughed.

"Trust me." He grabbed her hand and they headed back upstairs.

He looked through her wardrobe as she begun to straighten her hair and do her makeup. He pulled out and held a few dresses to choose which one to give her.

"This one?" She turned to look at it and shook her head.

"Danny no way! Way too much boob on show." He winked and shrugged. She shook her head and laughed.

"I'm not complaining but okay." He picked up the other one he had in his hand before. "This one?" She nodded.

"Good choice." He grinned and laid it on their bed. He took his top off and headed into the bathroom to spray his deodorant. Clara watched his reflection in the mirror. He paused as he came out of the bathroom and looked into the same mirror she was.

"Yes?" She giggled and walked over to him.

"I was just thinking, how the hell do you still have a 6-pack like that when you just sit and eat crisps all day?" He laughed.

"Yeahhh, I don't know. I haven't been to the gym in so long." She nodded.

"Too right you haven't." She winked.

"Let's go together, call it a New Years resolution?" She smiled and kissed him.

"Deal."

They got into town quicker than expected. The traffic hadn't been nearly as bad as they thought it was going to be. They walked hand in hand to the theatre and booked their seats.

"Want to get anything to eat?" He nodded and grinned. "Remember we're going out for a meal after though." He nodded again.

"I'll still be hungry." She rolled her eyes. "Hey! It's Christmas!" She smiled and pulled him towards the shop.

They got their seats and were immediately happy with where they had chosen. They could see the whole stage and had no one sat next to them. Danny slipped his hand round waist and let her rest her head on his shoulder. He smiled gently at her, she looked so happy. He loved seeing her happy, nothing could beat it.

They collapsed back on the sofa when they got home.

"That was so good." She giggled a little.

"It was. Thank you for suggesting it." He smiled and stood back up.

"Drink?" She nodded. He came back in a few minutes later with a glass for each of them. She took hers and mouthed a thank you. She then placed it down and stood up to switch on some music. As she pressed shuffle hers and Danny's favourite song came on. She smiled and held her hand out for him to take. He placed one hand on her waist and one in her other hand. She leant into his chest as they danced slowly together.

"Can we stay here forever, just you and me?" He smiled.

"That would be perfect, but we've got lives to live." She kissed him softly. "As long as we're together I don't care what happens. I don't want to ever not be with you Clara. You're it for me." She pulled away a little and looked up at him. "So I've got something I'd like to do. Sit down for a second." He smiled and ran out of the room. He returned not long after. He took a deep breath and moved a small box from behind his back. He then opened it and bent down onto one knee. She gasped as her hands flung to her mouth.

"Danny." He smiled.

"Clara." He paused to gather his words. She giggled a little bit. "Sorry, I'm so bad at this." She shook her head as tears began to fall down her cheeks.

"It's okay." He nodded.

"Clara Oswald. My impossible girl. I can't explain how much you mean to me. You've saved me so many times and in so many ways. When I first met you I was, frankly, a mess. But that smile of yours, that perfect smile, brought so much happiness to me. It still does today. I want it to always do so. So, here it goes, Clara Oswald... Will you marry me?" She nodded and kissed him deeply.

"Yes. Oh my god yes. I love you so much." He smiled and kissed her again. He then reached to take the ring out of the box and placed it on her finger.

"This better fit." She laughed. To Danny's relief, it fit perfectly.

"It's beautiful. I don't know what to say." He smiled and moved to sit beside her on the sofa.

"You don't need to say anything. Yes was enough." She smiled back.

"How long have you been planning this for?" He laughed a little.

"Actually, not that long. I've known that I want to make you my wife for a long time now. How could I not? It was just the timing that I needed to work out. I asked your dads permission, he accepted gladly you'll be pleased to know." She smiled. "And I got the ring around a month ago. I was just waiting for the right time. But I think today was it. It was the moment I needed." She smiled again.

"Well I'm glad you asked because right now, I don't think I could be happier." He kissed her deeply and they laid back on the sofa in each other's arms.

The next morning, Clara ran around the house tidying as much as she could. Danny watched her and sighed. After a few minutes he walked over and stopped her.

"Clara. The house looks fine. The food is in the oven. You look beautiful. Everything is in hand, stop worrying." She sighed and let him kiss her head.

"Sorry, I need to calm down. I just feel like I need to have everything perfect to avoid criticisms from Linda." He sighed.

"Forget about her. Nothing she says can touch us. You're worth ten of her, you know that. Focus on enjoying the day with your dad and your gran." She nodded and smiled. As she did there was a knock on the door. They both looked over and took a deep breath.

"Ready?" She nodded.

"Ready." Danny headed over to allow them inside.

Soon enough conversation turned to her and Danny.

"So how was your day yesterday?" Gran asked. Clara smiled at Danny.

"It was really good thank you. It was perfect." At that moment gran looked down to Clara's hand and noticed her fiddling with her ring. A surprised look came over her face.

"Is that-?! What-?!" Clara grinned and held Danny's hand.

"We have some news to tell you. Yesterday, Danny proposed to me... And I said yes." Gran laughed happily and stood up to kiss Clara's head.

"Oh congratulations! I'm so happy for you two!" Clara smiled. Nothing made her happier than seeing her gran proud. Dave shook Danny's hand and smiled.

"Congrats mate." Danny smiled.

"Thank you." Whilst they all shared their approvals, Linda sat quietly in the corner. Clara noticed but said nothing. It wasn't worth it.

Danny led Dave and Linda to the table a while later. Clara got up to follow but her gran stopped her as she walked out.

"Clara. I'm so so happy for you. I really am." Clara smiled and held her gran's hands.

"Thank you gran."

"You look so happy. You deserve all the happiness you can get, you really do. For a long while that wonderful smile of yours was missing. I wasn't sure if you'd ever get it back. But now you have I really couldn't be prouder of you." Clara smiled as she tried to stop tears from escaping from her eyes.

"I love you gran." They hugged each other and then headed out to the table themselves.

The food went down well despite Linda's sour face that could be seen for the duration of the meal. Clara tried her best to ignore it but after a while it became impossible. She gave her dad a look to which he nodded. He excused him and Linda from the table. They walked into the other room.

"What is with you today? You could at least be happy for Clara." Linda sighed.

"Oh and give her even more attention. Yeah that's right." Dave shook his head. "All we ever hear is 'ooo well done Clara, congratulations Clara'. No one needs to keep hearing that." She hadn't realised that she had raised her voice slightly as she spoke, enough for Danny and Clara to hear what she was saying. Danny got up from the table in anger and began to walk towards her. Clara followed.

"Danny leave it!" He shook his head.

"How can you say that!? Clara's been through so much and all you can say is 'oh we've heard it all before'? What is it you've got against her? Because from where I'm standing she's done nothing wrong." Linda sighed.

"Oh there you go! Another poor follower to stick up for her!" Danny shook his head.

"I love her! I'm sticking up for her because it's the right thing to do. I do have a mind of my own, as does everyone else who supports her."

"Brilliant. Makes a change." Dave stood back and said nothing, as he always did. A trait that made Clara's blood boil. As Danny went to speak again Clara stopped him and stepped forwards.

"You know what Linda, why don't you just go? All you've done since you've arrived is sat with a miserable look on your face. I think we can all do without your constant criticisms today." She went to protest. "Just get out!" She stood back a little and then looked to Dave who just shrugged. With that, she grabbed her coat and her bag and left. "Oh and thanks for the support dad. Much appreciated." He sighed.

"Clara-" She shook her head.

"No, you've let her push you around for too many years now. Something needs to be done about it." He took the cue to leave and, too, went out of the front door. A tear fell down her cheek as she watched his car pull away from the driveway. Danny placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright? I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry that had to happen." She shook her head and wiped her eyes.

"It's okay. It needed to be said. Let's just enjoy what's left of the day. You, gran and me." He nodded and kissed her head.

That evening, Danny dropped gran home whilst Clara tidied up the kitchen. She couldn't help but feel a little down about how the day had gone. It was like she couldn't see her dad without arguing with him, she hated that. When Danny got back he walked into the kitchen and put his arms around her from behind. She sighed and leant her head back into his neck. He kissed it softly. She then turned around to face him, tears building in her eyes. He smiled sadly at her.

"Come on, let's have a chat." He pulled her gently by the hand to sit in the living room.

"Danny it was such a disaster." Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"No it wasn't. We still had a nice day, right?" She nodded reluctantly. "We did, it was lovely to see your gran. We had a nice morning together too. I know Linda and your dad didn't exactly add to the festivity but you can't let them spoil your whole day. Just because they can't see and appreciate your happiness, it doesn't mean that you can't either." She smiled a little. "We've had the best Christmas. Please don't let Linda get you down. She's not worth it. You deserve so much better." She wiped her tears away and rested her forehead on his. She kissed him softly.

"Okay. I'll push them aside for now. Thank you for the best Christmas Danny." He smiled and kissed her back.

"You're welcome."

Clara woke up early the next morning. She laid in bed watching Danny sleep peacefully. He was so beautiful. There was something about him that just made her fall head over heels in love again every time she saw him. He woke up a while later. She kissed his chest and then his neck and his cheek. He smiled and kissed her deeply.

"Sleep well?" She nodded.

"Yeah, so well. I needed it." He sighed.

"I don't ever want to move. If I could stay here with you for the rest of my life I would be a happy man." She grinned.

"Well you can do for now. I'm not planning on going anywhere." She leant her head on his chest. As she did so she looked to the window. The light coming through the gaps in the curtains looked a little brighter than usual. She watched it curiously. After a few minutes she got up and grabbed her dressing gown.

"Clara?" She opened the curtains slightly and then took turned back round to Danny.

"Danny! It's snowed!" He laughed and got up to walk to her side.

"So it has. Quite a lot actually." She nodded excitedly.

"We HAVE to go out! Come on! Please!" He laughed again.

"You're such a child. But yes. We do have to. I vote for breakfast and then a walk in the snow?" She nodded again and kissed his cheek.

Clara chucked her coat and boots on once they were ready to go.

"Danny come on!" He laughed and shook his head.

"You are actually wayyy to excited." She laughed back and smiled.

"It's Christmas and its snowing. They're my two favourite things. How could I not be excited?" He shrugged in agreement. "Oh, you're one of my favourite things too I guess." She winked and opened the front door. He chased her to the end of the street and caught her in his arms. They giggled happily together.

They got to the park and saw that the field before them was full of deep, untouched snow. They looked at each other for a second before racing each other there. Clara ran after Danny, not being able to keep up with his pace. She grabbed him around the waist making him trip and fall to the floor. They both laughed as she laid slightly on top of him in the snow. He kissed her softly and smiled.

"Snowman?" She nodded. They got up and began to roll up the body. Once the ball began to get bigger Clara struggled to push it any further. Danny laughed as she attempted to move it with no luck.

"Weak, so weak." She laughed.

"Ahh you just wait, once we get the gym going you'll be catching up with me." She winked as he moved the ball of snow a little further and then set the head on top of it. They grabbed some stones for the eyes, buttons and mouth and some sticks for arms. Finally, Danny placed his scarf around its neck and they both stood back a little bit to look at it.

"He's cute." Clara said. Danny nodded in agreement.

"Like you." She cringed and laughed.

"Not your finest pick up line Mr Pink." He giggled and kissed her head.

"I'm cold, can we head back?" He nodded and they walked back to the house hand in hand.

New Year's Eve arrived faster than either of them had expected. They had no plans and hadn't thought about what they might do at all. Clara was also feeling extremely ill so going out was not looking promising.

"What are we actually doing tonight?" Clara sighed shook her head.

"I have no idea." He nodded.

"Do you want to see friends? Or go out? Stay in?" She thought for a second.

"Stay in. I don't feel like going out." He smiled. "I just want to stay here with you. There's nothing I'd rather do than that." He kissed her head.

"Good choice, I don't want you getting any more ill." She smiled as she grabbed a tissue to blow her nose for the hundredth time that day.

"We can have a movie night." He nodded.

"Let me cook for you?" She shook her head.

"You don't need to do that. We can get something in."

"No I want to. I want to treat you." She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Okay." He kissed her head.

"So you stay here and choose a movie and I'll get dinner going." She nodded and moved to the DVDs.

He came back in to check on her a little later. She was laying in front of the tv looking more than peaceful. That was until she began to cough and sneeze again. He grabbed her a tissue and a glass of water.

"There you go." She smiled weakly and sat up a little.

"I feel so ill." He sighed and stroked her hair out of her face.

"Can I get anything for you?"

"Paracetamol and a cuddle?" He smiled.

"Deal."

Once dinner was eaten Danny allowed Clara to lay back on his chest.

"Are you going to make it to midnight?" He said with a laugh. She smiled.

"Probably not but I'll try." He kissed her head.

11:59. Danny watched the countdown. He looked over to Clara and sighed. She was fast asleep. He couldn't wake her. So he picked up his glass and smiled. He counted down quietly. _10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1._

"Happy New Year beautiful." He took a sip of his drink and then kissed her head again softly. Whilst he sat there watching her sleep he felt immensely grateful. He another year had rushed by and he was even more in love than the year before. Many more years of that were to come.

 **Thank you for readinggggg x**


	11. Chapter 11- Disapproval

**I'm sorry... but it's cute so I think you'll forgive me ;)**

Disapproval

Clara smiled gently as she saw Danny walk into the school just ahead of him. He clearly hadn't seen her so she began to jog up to him.

"Hey." He turned round immediately.

"Hey." They smiled at each other lovingly before realising that half of their year 11 classes were watching and giggling at them. They usually arrived at work together but Danny had decided to stay at his for the night to get some packing done. He was moving in to hers as soon as possible. Whilst Clara was alone, the house felt oddly empty. She'd been alone for most nights before she met Danny but it seemed as though she had gotten used to his presence extremely quickly. Something about him not being there made her feel uneasy. She was glad when she saw him again the next morning.

At break time Danny came into Clara's class as always. He strolled in and sat on the front of her desk.

"Hey." She smiled as she walked to the bookshelf to begin to tidy the room.

"Good morning?" She nodded.

"It was okay. I'd rather be at home with you though." He laughed a little bit and walked to shut the classroom door in.

"Doing what exactly?" He said as he walked towards her. He winked making her laugh.

"You know exactly what." She kissed him softly. She then pulled away and smiled. "We should do something this weekend." He nodded, still holding her in his arms.

"I agree. Did you have much in mind?" She shook her head.

"I don't mind, as long as we're together." He smiled and kissed her again.

"Leave it to me. I'll get planning." She smiled and walked back to her desk. She picked up her phone and sighed when she saw a message from her dad.

"My dad would like to meet you as well, it's been long enough. He sort of needs to meet you now." Danny laughed a little.

"Yeah, six months and he's not met me once. Actually, why is that?" Clara shook her head.

"He's not good with boyfriends. Bad history." Danny nodded sensing he shouldn't ask further.

"Why don't you invite him round? This weekend? We can do something on Saturday and he can come round on Sunday?" She hesitated. "Come on, what's the worst that can happen?"

"I really don't want to imagine. But okay, I'll ask him. Round ours for dinner?" He nodded.

"Sounds good. I'll cook."

Sunday arrived and Clara hadn't stopped running around her flat making things look tidy. She felt like everything had to look in order, that way there were less things for anyone to complain about. By complaining, she meant Linda, who she was praying wouldn't come with her dad. Danny walked into the room and sighed at her.

"Clara." She ignored him so he walked over and stopped her from walking away. "Clara, stop. The flat looks fine!" She shook her head.

"No it doesn't Danny, it's a tip! Look!" She pointed to the room. He sighed.

"It's fine! Stop stressing. It's not like your dad will mind anyway, he'll just be happy to see you." Clara scoffed.

"You so clearly haven't met my dad. There's always a drama." He shook his head.

"I'll make sure there isn't one today. I promise. Now come and watch a movie with me because I want a cuddle." She sighed, smiled and kissed him softly.

"Okay, you win. But I do need to go shopping later." He nodded and pulled her through to the sofa.

A couple of hours later the movie ended and Clara moved to get up. She stopped, however, when she noticed that Danny had half fallen asleep on her. As she moved he stirred and pulled her back. She laughed.

"Danny I need to go shopping." He shook his head sleepily.

"No you don't. You need to stay here with me." She kissed him softly.

"Later. We've got two hours, and if I don't go we've got nothing for dinner." He sat up slowly and sighed.

"That's plenty of time." She stood up and pulled away from him.

"Wait who's idea was it for him to come round?" He sighed.

"Okay, fair point. Don't be long." He kissed her.

Danny finished some tidying up and got some marking done. He then sat back on the sofa watching tv to pass the time. As he did there was a knock on the door. He frowned. It wouldn't be Clara as she had a key. He walked over and opened it quickly. It was then that he saw Dave stood on the doorstep.

"Oh, hello." Danny realised who it must be due to process of elimination.

"Hi. Sorry I'm early." Danny shook his head.

"No, that's okay. Come in." Dave stepped inside and handed Danny a bottle of wine. "Thank you, I'm Danny." He shook Dave's hand.

"Welcome, and I'm Dave. I've heard a lot about you." Danny smiled.

"All bad I hope." Dave laughed a little before looking around. "Where's Clara?" Danny placed the bottle down beside him.

"She's at the shops, I'll just give her a call. Feel free to make yourself comfortable." He smiled and headed into the living room. Once Danny was out of sight he grabbed his phone in panic. This was not how he had planned things to pan out.

He dialled her number and waited impatiently.

"Clara!" She laughed on the other end of the phone.

"Couldn't bare not speaking to me?" She joked. Danny brushed it off and shook his head.

"Clara your dad is here." Now it went silent for a second.

"What?!"

"He's here. In the living room. He was early." He looked down at his watch. "Very early." Clara sighed.

"Umm okay. I'm on my way. Make small talk." Danny shook his head.

"About what?! I don't even know him!"

"Golf! He likes golf! And ask him about his job. That will take up ten minutes." Danny sighed and hung up. Could things get any worse?

He walked back into the living room and sat down.

"She's on her way. With dinner I hope." Dave smiled. "Drink?" He shook his head.

"No, I'm good for now thank you." It went silent for a second, Danny couldn't help but cringe. Dave, luckily, broke it so that Danny didn't have to. "So, you work at Coal Hill as well?" He nodded.

"Yep, maths." Dave nodded back with interest.

"What brought you there?"

"It was chance if I'm honest. I was in the army. But when I retired from that I thought I'd go for what I was reasonably good at along with what I enjoyed being with. Maths and kids." Dave nodded but didn't say anything back. The army questions weren't asked, which did strike Danny as slightly odd. He was so used to getting them now that he almost answered by default. "So what about you? What do you do for a living?" The job question, that had to last until Clara got back. Dave began to talk and he didn't stop. Danny tried to show an interest but was thinking about Clara more. He couldn't help but count down the minutes. He almost jumped out of his seat when he saw her car pull up on the drive. "Ah there's Clara. I'll just go and give her a hand."

He walked out to the car and grabbed a shopping bag from the boot. He exchanged a look with Clara.

"Why is he early!?"

"I don't know! But it was terrible timing." Clara sighed.

"Well he's here now, so let's get on with it." Danny nodded and kissed her quickly.

Dave walked to greet her as she entered the house.

"Hi dad." He kissed her cheek and smiled.

"Hi darling, how are you?" She walked into the kitchen to put the shopping bags down.

"I'm very well thank you, how are you?" She smiled at Danny as she said it.

"Yes, I'm good. Sorry I arrived early."

"Actually, why did you come early?"

"Well, long story short, Linda didn't want me to come without her so I left before she could stop me." Clara sighed.

"That woman is trouble, you know that." Dave sighed.

"Okay okay, let's not have this argument again." Clara stopped speaking. It went silent for a second.

"So, can I get you a drink now that Clara's here?" Danny said to break the ice.

"Yes please, I'll have whatever you're both having, thank you." He walked back to sit in the living room.

"What just happened?" Clara sighed and slipped her shoes off.

"I told you. There's always drama. This is why I wasn't keen on having him round as someone always manages to say something that turns into a heated debate." He kissed her head.

"A couple of hours, that's all, and then it'll be just you and me again." She smiled and leant into him a little.

Conversation flowed reasonably well for the rest of the evening. Danny had made dinner to avoid any more awkward moments, leaving Clara alone with her dad every so often. Clara was pleasantly surprised by the change in the evening. Due to the slight bicker earlier she expected it to be a hard night, but it had been bearable. That was until things got a little bit tricky...

Danny left for the kitchen, leaving Clara and her dad alone. She could tell he was itching to say something, he just couldn't quite get the words out.

"Come on, what is it? I can tell by your face there's something you want to say." He sighed and leant forwards a little.

"Are you sure he's the one?" Clara moved away from him slightly at the question.

"Yes. Of course. Why wouldn't he be?" Dave sighed.

"It's just that, that he reminds me of Luke... And how you used to be when you were with Luke." Clara stood up in outrage.

"What? Why would you say that?!" Dave shook his head, seemingly not surprised at her outburst.

"I'm not saying it to be horrible. I want you to be prepared." She felt the anger bubble over.

"Danny is the best person I've ever met! I love him! He would never cheat on me! Never!" It was then that Clara noticed Danny walk in the room.

"But you need to be prepared for if he does!"

"All you ever do, all you ever have done, is destroy my happiness! Why would you say that!? Of all things! Can't you tell I'm happy with Danny!?" Dave pulled a face and shrugged. "You know what, just get out. Get out of my house and go back to your perfect girlfriend and your wonderful life." He went to protest. "GET OUT!" Dave sighed and nodded. He grabbed his coat and left. Danny stood in the doorway, a little lost for words. Clara felt tears fall down her cheeks. Her hands had begun to shake as the memories came flooding back.

"Clara... What just happened?" She didn't respond. She just began to sob. He walked towards her and went to hold her in his arms.

"No... I can't." She ran past him and straight out of the front door. Danny followed her as quickly as he could. He had forgotten that Clara could run pretty fast when she wanted to, especially when she wanted to get away from something.

After running down the stairs of the building he got outside. He stopped momentarily, looking in each direction to decide where she would have gone. He then ran to the only place he knew where to look. The park. She always went there when she was upset. He found himself moving as fast as his legs would possibly take him. He couldn't leave her. He needed to make sure she was okay.

"Clara!" He called. "Clara!" He ran from corner to corner until he slowed as he saw her curled up on a bench. The one that looked out over the whole park, her favourite spot. He approached her slowly. "Clara, please. What's wrong?" She shook her head.

"There's so much you don't know. I'm sorry." He sighed and held her in his arms.

"Shh shh, it's okay." She cried into his chest.

Once she had calmed down slightly he noticed her shivering. He placed his jacket around her and kissed her head.

"Let's get back. It's cold." She nodded and walked away from him slowly, she stopped momentarily to grab his hand. They walked back in silence.

She stood in the kitchen when they got back looking a little lost. Danny sighed and walked to her side.

"Do you want to talk?" She nodded slowly.

"Yes, but not like this. Can we go to bed? I know it's early but-" He stopped her.

"Of course we can, whatever you feel like doing. Do you want anything first?" She shook her head and they walked upstairs together.

He allowed her to initiate the conversation when they had laid down.

"I'm sorry for that earlier. You didn't need to be dragged into it." He shook his head and rubbed her arm gently.

"No, it's okay. That doesn't matter. But I am a bit confused." She nodded knowing that she was going to have to explain everything.

"My dad and I haven't got on well for a while now. Since mum died. Before that we were really close but the whole situation ripped us apart. We just didn't seem to have the same connection... One of the things that my dad is very protective about is boyfriends. He's not good with the idea of someone else being close to me. I think it's because it's been just the two of us for so long that having someone else would change the dynamic." Danny nodded. "But, five years ago I met Luke. I hated him at first but then we got closer. Really close. We were inseparable. He was my first serious relationship outside of school really. I loved him, I really loved him. I was prepared to devote my life to him. But then it all went wrong. Turns out, he was sleeping with my best friend. I spiralled out of control again, like I did after mum, I couldn't cope with it." She paused to get herself together. He moved slightly closer to her. "My dad hated seeing me like that. Understandably. I made a vow to myself to leave Luke behind and move on with my life but my dad didn't find it as easy to drop. It got complicated. My dad punched him. And Luke was going to go to the police. It was messy but then I began to ignore it. Every time I see someone else he makes a comment about him and how I need to be cautious. I hate it. I want to forget him, not remember him. My dad brought it up earlier, hence why I lost it. I don't want to think of you like that, you're not him. You're Danny, my Danny." She buried her head into his chest and let him hold her protectively.

"I'm so so sorry Clara. I really am. But I promise you, I will never ever leave your side. I love you more than anything. You don't deserve any of this." He kissed her head and sighed.

"When I met you I felt safe again. I know nothing will hurt me when I'm with you. Why can't my dad see that?"

"I'm not saying that the way he reacted is right but he's most probably saying it because he cares about you. Seeing you so so upset hurts him so if he can stop it then he will. He'll come round I promise you." She looked up and smiled.

"I love you Danny Pink." He brushed her hair out of her face.

"I love you too. More than anything." She smiled as he kissed her softly. She then rested her arms around his neck and kissed him back, more deeply this time. Danny returned it but then paused.

"Are you sure you want to do this now?" She nodded.

"I just want you." He nodded back and began to kiss her neck.

A few days later Clara still hadn't heard from her dad. She hadn't found the courage to ring him either. Danny had been so supportive but nothing managed to make her do it.

"He's probably thinking about it just as much as you are Clara. If you don't want to call him, drop him a text." She sighed.

"I will. I just-" He smiled and rubbed her arm gently.

"You don't want him to say anything else to upset you?" She nodded.

"And I don't want him to dislike you. Because you don't deserve that." Danny sighed.

"Look, we will sort this. Don't worry." He kissed her head. "Right now though I need to go to the shop, do you want to come with me?" She thought for a second and then shook her head.

"No, it's alright. Don't be long." She kissed him and went to sit back in the living room.

He walked around finding what he needed but suddenly stopped. Ahead of him, speak of the devil, was Dave. Danny hesitated on the spot for a second, debating whether to approach him or not. The decision, however, didn't need to be made as Dave looked over and saw him. Danny sighed. He couldn't not go over now. They had got off on the wrong foot anyway let alone ignoring him now as well. So he walked towards him.

"Hi, Dave." Dave smiled awkwardly and stood in silence. Danny hesitated before speaking. "I need to talk to you... About the other night." Dave now sighed a little. "Now, Clara has told me everything so I completely understand the situation. I know that the reason you are acting like this is because you care about her, I get that. You don't want to see her heartbroken again. But I promise you from the bottom of my heart that I love her and would never ever do anything to hurt her. I won't let anything happen to her. Please Dave. Speak to Clara. She's going crazy with worry but she won't admit it. She's barely stopped crying in three days. She wants to sort this out." He thought for a second.

"Okay... I'm sorry mate." He shook his hand. It was as though what Danny had said had struck a nerve, it made him think about what he had done and what he needed to do to fix it.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Dave nodded.

"I'll meet you outside once I've finished in here. Is she home now?" Danny nodded back and smiled gently.

Once they had both done their shopping they drove back to Clara's flat. Danny unlocked the door and entered to put down the shopping. Clara spoke as she walked down the stairs, unaware that Dave was there.

"Hey, what took you so long!? I've been-" She stopped suddenly when she saw her dad behind Danny. She looked at Danny and then back to her dad. "What-"

"We bumped into each other in the shop and Danny has talked to me about everything. It made me think. I really want to sort this out. Please can we talk? You're my little girl, I don't want to keep fighting with you." A tear fell down Clara's cheek. She smiled a little and then ran towards him. She hugged him tightly. Danny smiled at the sight.

He waited in the kitchen as they both talked it over in the other room. He was praying that they'd fix things, he hated seeing Clara so upset. He instinctively stood up when he heard the door open. Dave walked through to see Danny again.

"I just want to say, again I'm so so sorry. I shouldn't have prejudged you. You're a great guy and you certainly make Clara happy, I couldn't ask for more than that." Danny smiled and shook his hand.

"No problem mate. Thank you." He nodded and headed for the door. Clara hugged him once more and then she said her goodbyes.

She came back into the kitchen where Danny was stood nervously.

"I love you so much. Thank you Danny." He sighed a sigh of relief. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. He then wiped away her tears and smiled.

"All sorted then?" Clara nodded.

"Yes, thanks to you. You really are amazing you know." He laughed a little.

"No, I just did what was right. You deserve to be happy and so does he." Clara kissed him again.

"Well I am eternally grateful." He smiled but hesitated a little. Clara noticed. "What's wrong?" He shook his head.

"Nothings wrong. I just... Ugh okay." She frowned. "Come upstairs."

She sat on the bed, slightly confused.

"Wait here for a minute." He ran off and then promptly came back again holding a bag. She smiled at him. He then reached into it and pulled out a small box. She gasped.

"Danny!" He took a deep breath and bent down onto one knee.

"Clara Oswald. I love you so much. You already know that, there aren't enough times I can say it. All of the stuff that's happened this week, it made me realise something. I don't ever want to see you upset again. I promise to you that no matter what happens I'll be here for you. You've changed my life and I wouldn't ever go back. You're the most amazing, beautiful and clever person I've ever met. You're also a pretty good teacher too." He winked as she laughed through her tears. "So, here it goes. Will you marry me?" She nodded happily and hugged him tightly.

"Oh my god Danny yes!" He picked her up and spun her around before kissing her deeply. They fell down on the bed in each other's arms. He sat up and picked up her hand to put the ring on. "It's perfect. Thank you." She looked at it and then kissed him again.

"You're very welcome. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you Mrs Pink." She grinned and let him kiss her deeply.

A couple of hours later they laid in tangled bedsheets, fingers entwined with each other's. She moved her head off of his chest and sat up a little.

"How long have you been wanting to do this for?" He smiled.

"A while. But I asked for your dads permission today. Once I'd talked him round, that is." She laughed. "And I got the ring a few weeks back... You don't mind that we didn't go anywhere or anything do you?" She frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Well I was going to make it really special. You know, like a meal and something fancy. But today just felt right. I was debating whether to do it or not but I'm so glad I did." She smiled and shook her head.

"Danny it's perfect. I don't need anything fancy, as long as you're here I'm happy. Thank you." She smiled and laid back down on his chest. As she did he watched her drift off to sleep. He had made a vow, to her, her dad and himself. Clara Oswald would never be hurt, he was going to make sure of that.

 **:)))**


	12. Chapter 12- Valentines

**Sorry this is so lateeeee, I'm so busy and have not had time to write at all! I hope you all enjoy!x**

Valentines

Danny stirred awake to see Clara still asleep on his chest. He laid still for a while amongst the tangled bedsheets. There was no need to wake her. She looked so peaceful, absolutely beautiful. He found himself dropping back off to sleep again soon, not that he minded. They had all day to do what ever they liked and laying in bed was rather high up both of their wish lists. He laid undisturbed until he heard a small whimper and then felt Clara sit up with a start.

"Clara?" She looked around frantically but settled a little when she saw him next to her. She laid her head down on his chest and slowed her breathing. "What happened?" She went to shrug it off but he spoke before she could do so. "Talk to me. Please." She nodded and moved so that she could lay to face him.

"I thought- It sounds so stupid now." He shook his head.

"No, it's not stupid if it's scared you." She took another deep breath.

"I had a dream... You were with me and then- then you were gone. I thought I'd lost you." He wiped away the few tears that had escaped down her cheeks.

"I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. It's okay." She buried her head in his chest.

"I love you." He kissed her head.

"I love you too. You're safe here." She smiled. "Is there anything that could have caused it?" She thought for a second.

"I don't know, I don't think so." He nodded.

"Well, I'll do my best to make sure you forget about it today." He kissed her head as she moved to be more comfortable in his arms.

They laid in silence for a while before Clara sat up a little.

"You know what day it is, right?" Danny smiled and nodded.

"I do. Happy Valentines Day beautiful. The first of many to come." She nodded back in agreement and kissed him softly. He smiled and rolled over on the bed so that he could sit up. She groaned a little and pulled him back. He laughed. "I'm only going to the other side of the room. I've got something for you." She smiled and sat herself up, keeping the duvet wrapped around her body.

"If you're lucky, I may have something for you too." She winked. He moved back to the bed and handed her a bag. She opened it intently. Her eyes opened wide as she unwrapped a beautiful necklace. "Danny... Its-" He took it out of her hands and did it up gently around her neck.

"It's just what you wanted. The one you saw in Paris and fell in love with." She smiled.

"You remembered." He nodded.

"Of course I did." He kissed her softly. She moved away from him a little and pulled a present from behind her. He unwrapped it to see the shirt that he had been wanting for a while. He smiled.

"I remembered too." He nodded and kissed her softly.

"Of course you did." They laid in each other's arms for a while before Clara stood up and opened the curtains. She smiled at the sight. They'd decided to go away for a week, Valentines Day seemed like the perfect time to go. It wasn't anywhere amazing but they were together, that's all that mattered. Neither of them ever wanted to go home. Danny got up and placed his arms around her waist from behind. He kissed her neck making her smile.

"What do you want to do today?" She turned round to face him.

"Well you promised we'd go crabbing." He laughed.

"Oh so romantic." She laughed back.

"We have all evening to be romantic." She winked. "Let's go and have some fun."

They walked down from their hotel to the seafront. After buying a bucket and a net and collecting some water, they settled in a nice spot right on the shore.

"I actually hate crabs." Danny looked at her and laughed.

"Umm who's idea was this?!" She shook her head.

"I wanted to watch you catch them. I'm not touching them." He smiled and carried on searching in the water below them. She watched him happily. "You're so cute. And you're loving this. Don't even try to deny it." He smiled and kissed her softly.

"Okay, it is kinda fun."

"Told you you'd love it." He went to kiss her again but quickly pulled away.

"I CAUGHT ONE!" He shouted, Clara laughed as he pulled it up and placed it in the bucket. He picked it back up and swung it near to her. She yelped and ran away from him. He laughed and ran after her.

"DANNY. Danny stop!" She laughed as they ran down the seafront. She slowed a little so he sped up and managed to get in front of her. He stuck the crab out towards her again making her run the other way. "Danny! Please!" She giggled whilst pushing his hand away frantically. He laughed and put the crab down gently in the nearest rock pool.

"Okay okay, I'll stop. But only because I love you." She smiled and walked back towards him slowly. She kissed him softly and grabbed his hand as they walked back to their stuff. "There's one thing that would make this day more perfect." Clara looked up.

"And what is that?"

"A little bit of sun. It's freezing." Clara nodded and noticed she was shivering quite a bit.

"Well it is February. And we are in England." He nodded back in agreement. He took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders.

They began to walk back to the hotel, both of them freezing. They strolled down the street, hand in hand. It soon started to rain. Danny looked up and pulled a face of disapproval.

"Oh look, the weather just got better." Clara laughed.

"As I said, it's February and we're in England." He smiled. She continued to walk but he stopped her, pulling her back. "Danny?" He stood and looked at her for a second. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I just really don't care about the rain. Or the cold. Or anything else, except for you. I love you more than anything, more than I ever thought I could." She smiled a little and held his hands.

"Where did that come from?"

"You just look so happy. So carefree. You're so beautiful." She kissed him deeply and let him pull her closer to him. They stood in the street in each other's arms for a good ten minutes ignoring any looks they were getting from passers by. Danny broke the silence after a while. "We should probably head back..." She laughed and nodded.

"Yeah. That would be wise." He kissed her once more and they began to walk hand in hand again. Soon, it began to rain harder. They both laughed and started to run.

"I'll race you there." Clara laughed as he jogged on ahead.

"No you won't!" She began to run too.

They reached the hotel and continued running until they got to their room. Clara ran straight in and laid on the bed. Danny followed her and laid gently on top of her. He kissed her deeply before rolling over, not letting go of her waist.

"Clara Oswald, I never want to have to let you go." She giggled in between kissing him softly.

"No one said you have to." She winked as he kissed her again.

Danny rolled over and looked at the clock. 5pm. He looked over to Clara who was laying peacefully next to him.

"As nice as this is, we need to get ready." She frowned.

"What for?" He smiled and fiddled with her hair as he began to speak.

"I've booked us a table at one of my favourite restaurants. I think you'll love it. We have until 7." She now smiled too.

"You're so cute." He grinned and kissed her cheek.

"I try... Shower?" She nodded and they both headed for the bathroom.

They decided to walk to the restaurant. They both slightly regretted it as soon as they realised how cold it had gotten throughout the evening, but it was a refreshing walk nevertheless. Their meal was beautiful. After much food and wine they began to stroll back to the seafront again. Both tipsy, they managed to stay upright only due to using each other's arms for stability.

"How did you find out about that place then? It was so good." Danny smiled.

"I came here once. A long time ago." She watched him stare out at the ocean as he spoke.

"With who?"

"My girlfriend at the time." Clara giggled a little. "Oi you, there were others before us you know." She shook her head.

"No no, I never doubted that... What was she like?" He sighed.

"At the time she was everything I wanted, what I thought I wanted anyway. But looking back, she was quite up herself. Didn't approve of this place. She said she'd rather have been to Vegas or something." Clara scoffed.

"She clearly needed ditching." He laughed.

"That's what I realised. And I'll forever be happy that I did because I might have not met you otherwise." She nodded.

"Strange thing isn't it." He frowned.

"What is?"

"Fate. It's strange to think that if one tiny thing in either of our lives had changed or happened differently, we may have not chosen to live where we do. Or taken the job that we have. One tiny moment could have meant that we never met. Then we wouldn't be here today." He nodded.

"I've never thought about it like that. I suppose I should tell you that my life could have been extremely different to what it is now." She looked up inquisitively. "When I came out of the army, after it all happened, I was offered a place at the offices back home. You know, to work with the army from Britain. I was so nearly going to take it. But then I got offered Coal Hill and I changed my mind. Remember the day I came for my interview and the head showed me around?" She nodded. "I saw you in the corner of the staff room and then we had that awkward conversation." She laughed a little at the memory. "I knew that there was no way I could leave without getting to know you so I took the job. And now we're here." She looked up, surprised.

"You never told me that." He shook his head.

"I didn't. But you determined the life I have now. I took that job because of a ten second conversation with a woman I'd never met before. But I knew you were special the second I saw you." She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked.

"And you say you're not a risk taker, eh." He laughed a little.

"I'm not. It wasn't a risk, more of a lucky guess." She smiled again as he kissed her head.

The next day they woke up slowly and grabbed some breakfast.

"What do you fancy doing today?" Danny said. Clara smiled and reached for his hand across the table.

"Explore." He grinned.

"I thought you'd say that. I think I know a good place actually."

They headed out soon after. The weather had brightened up enough for them to see further out to sea. Danny led her to some beautiful gardens. They walked around happily there, hand in hand.

"This is so nice. Did you come here with your girlfriend as well?" She winked and he hit her gently on the stomach.

"No. Actually. I, umm..." He hesitated.

"Danny?" He laughed a little.

"Sorry, I'm going to sound like such an idiot for telling you this. I came here, to Bournemouth I mean, on my own a long time ago. I was bored during summer whilst I was at uni so I came for a holiday." Clara smiled and giggled a little.

"You came on your own?" He nodded a little.

"It sounds so stupid oh god." She laughed.

"Why didn't you come with friends?! You didn't need to go on your own." He shrugged.

"I don't know, but oh well. I have you now." She smiled and nodded.

"Very true. I'm not going to let that go though." He sighed and laughed.

"No no, why did I tell you that. Don't tell anyone, please!" She giggled.

"That's a story for work next week."

"No no no no! No way! They'll all mock me forever." She laughed.

"I'll announce it at our staff meeting." She dodged him trying to pull her towards him and ran away from him. He followed her, chasing her across the field ahead of them. They ran until he managed to catch her in his arms. They fell over gently, laughing with each other. He kissed her softly.

"Okay, if you tell them, I won't kiss you for a week." She laughed.

"Oh is that my punishment?" He nodded and smiled. "Hmm, I may have to reconfigure my decision then." She kissed him deeply and giggled.

They began to walk back later on, the sun still shining high in the sky.

"Do you know what I fancy?"

"What would that be?" She smiled.

"Ice cream." He nodded in agreement. "I'm guessing you know a good place for that too? As you've been here on your own and all." He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I've really dug myself a hole here haven't I?" She nodded cheekily. "But yes, I do know a place." She grinned and grabbed his hand again as they walked on. "What flavour would you like?" They stood looking at the numerous colours of ice cream in front of them. Clara paused for a second and then looked up.

"Marshmallow." He rolled his eyes and paid the man. They walked away a little and sat on the beach. "You're such a child, do you know that?" She giggled.

"What?! Marshmallows are good!" He laughed.

"They are, but come on! There were so many better flavours to choose from!" She shook her head.

"Nothing beats marshmallow! Speaking of marshmallows, you can go to the shop when we get home and buy me some more." He looked at her.

"Can I now? What if I don't?" He smiled sweetly at her.

"I'll tell everyone at work about your holiday." His eyes widened.

"Oh no no no, please. Okay I will." She smiled.

"I win." She winked at him as he kissed her softly.

A few days later it was time to drive home, something that saddened them both.

"Do we have to go?" Clara said as Danny put the last bag in the car boot.

"Unfortunately, we have work to go to tomorrow." She sighed.

"That does not sound appealing. I also have a pile of marking to do for tomorrow." Danny laughed.

"That's your evening sorted then. I'm gonna watch the football." He winked and she hit his arm.

"Okay okay, no need to rub it in. Not that I like football anyway. I think I'd actually rather do marking than sit through a football game." Danny looked at her with shock.

"How can you say that?!" She laughed.

"It's boring! All they do is kick a ball round a field!" Danny shook his head and laughed.

"I'm not having this debate again."

"What? Because I'll win?" He looked at her and sighed. She laughed happily and kissed his cheek.

Their first morning back went faster than expected. Clara had managed to get her marking done the evening before by some miracle and had made sure that her lessons were planned, so it had all gone smoothly. She was about to grab some food for lunch when Grace, a fellow English teacher, walked in and shut the door behind her. Clara frowned.

"Yes?" Grace smiled.

"I want information. How was it?" Clara sighed and shook her head. She knew this was going to come up, Grace loved a bit of gossip.

"How was what?" She laughed.

"Oh come on Clara! How was your holiday?! Your romantic get away!?" She winked making Clara laugh.

"It was good... It was very good in fact." Grace listened inquisitively.

"Anddddd..." Clara sighed a little and smiled. "Come on Clara, details." They both laughed.

"It was just really really nice. We both relaxed for the first time in ages. We had a laugh. He took me out for dinner, we explored. It was perfect." Grace stood up from leaning on Clara's desk.

"And after the meal...?" Clara shook her head.

"Yep... That happened. That definitely happened." She couldn't help but smile as she thought back to the moment. Grace giggled with excitement.

"Clara Oswald, you are one lucky woman." She smiled and nodded.

"I am. I certainly am." They both laughed and then headed out to get lunch together.

Danny strolled into her class at the end of the day as he always did. He began to help her tidy the room.

"Good day?" She nodded.

"Better than expected. You?" He nodded back.

"Mine was good too actually. I heard you had a chat with Grace earlier?" Clara's head shot up.

"How do you know that?" He laughed a little at her reaction.

"Believe it or not, she's a terrible liar." Clara sighed and smiled.

They got home and collapsed on the sofa.

"Fancy a glass of wine?" Danny said. "It's a little early but oh well." Clara laughed and nodded.

"Yes please." When he returned they took a sip from their glasses and then placed them down. "Thank you so much for last week Danny. It was honestly the best week I've had in years." He smiled and held her hands.

"No, thank you. I had the best time. And also, thank you for not telling everyone at work about you know what." She laughed.

"Oh don't worry, I've got that saved. I'll use it as blackmail one day." He shook his head and kissed her softly.

"I love you." Clara kissed him back.

"I love you."

 **:)**


	13. Chapter 13- Secrets

**Clara and Danny were destined to be together, right?**

Secrets

Clara turned up to work early as always, she liked to make sure she had enough time to grab a coffee before she started. A Monday morning without a coffee in her hand could only end in disaster. She headed out of the staff room, coffee in one hand, laptop in the other. She turned to look behind her, her mind distracted. It was then that she walked straight into something. After turning back round she noticed that it was the new maths teacher, Danny. She also noticed that she had spilt half of her coffee down his shirt.

"Oh my gosh I am so sorry!" He laughed a little and bent down to pick up the paper that both of them had dropped, half of which was now covered in brown stains. They stood back up and she sighed. "I am honestly so so sorry. Look at your shirt. God." He shook his head.

"No no it's okay, don't worry. Accidents happen. Let me give you a hand." He took her laptop and her folders off of her and followed her to her room where he placed them on her desk.

"Thank you." They stood for a second considering what to do. "What are you going to do with that?" She motioned towards his stained shirt.

"Well, between you and me, I'm a bit of a grandad and like to bring more than one shirt to work with me. So I'll pop and change." She laughed.

"Why on earth do you do that?!" He shrugged.

"Never know what's going to happen. I might walk into a lovely lady carrying a cup of coffee." They both laughed.

"Come to think of it, that's really not a bad idea. But I am sorry, again." He shook his head.

"It's fine honestly." The bell sounded interrupting their conversation. "I best run and change before form time. I'll see you around?" She nodded and smiled. She sat down sighed.

"Well done Clara. Well done." She shook her head at herself.

Over the next few days they seemed to keep bumping into each other. Neither of them were complaining, they'd gotten friendly and they had a lot in common too. Not to mention that Clara had a slight crush on him. She knew it sounded childish but she couldn't help it. That afternoon she was tidying up her classroom when she knocked a whole pile of textbooks off of her desk. She swore under breath and bent down to pick them up. Danny poked his head in a second later.

"Are you alright? I heard a loud bang?" She motioned towards the books on the floor and nodded.

"Oh yeah I'm good, if a little clumsy." He smiled and entered to help her.

"We've got to stop meeting like this." They both giggled.

"I guess we've not had the best luck so far but hey, no one's been hospitalised yet. That's a start." He laughed and placed the last of the books on the shelf for her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, I'm not sure I even know your first name yet?" He said as he sat on the edge of one of the tables. She smiled at him.

"I don't believe you do. It's Clara."

"Clara Oswald, like something from a fairytale." She rolled her eyes.

"Hence why I hate it." He laughed.

"Aw I like it. It suits you."

"Thank you, I'm glad about that. What's yours then?"

"Danny, Danny Pink."

"Not quite as good as James Bond." They both laughed. "But, it suits you too." He smiled.

"How long have you been at Coal Hill for then?" She thought for a second.

"Coming up for four years now. Bloody hell that sounds like such a long time." He laughed. "I love it here though. It's a nice atmosphere." He nodded.

"Yeah, I like it."

"You've settled in okay?" He nodded.

"I have yeah. As you said, it's a nice atmosphere. The people are nice, the kids are good too."

"Where were you before then? Local?" He shook his head.

"No, I've just moved from up north. Up in Lancaster."

"Oh really?! How come you moved?" He hesitated for a second. Should he tell her the truth now? No, not the right time.

"I fancied a change." She laughed.

"That's a bloomin big change." He nodded and smiled.

"A fresh start. That's what I needed."

"Fair enough. We all need that eventually. You ready to go?" She started to collect up her stuff as he nodded.

A few mornings later they arrived at school at the same time.

"Morning." She smiled.

"Morning." He smiled back but then paused.

"Is something wrong?" He shook his head.

"No no, not at all. I was just thinking... Would you like to come for a drink with me? Or a meal? I don't mind, you can choose. I mean we can-" She laughed and stopped him.

"I'd love to Danny. A meal would be perfect." He took a deep breath and smiled.

"Great. That sounds just great. Friday?" She nodded.

"Sounds good to me."

"I'll book, but the location is staying a surprise." She frowned.

"Hmm, mysterious." He laughed.

"I think you'll love it though." They both smiled.

Friday arrived and they were both so nervous. They wanted this to go well, it felt like there was so much at stake. Clara found herself almost running home so that she had time to choose the perfect outfit. She changed slowly and did her makeup to match the dress. After changing her mind numerous times she looked in the mirror and nodded in approval. It was then that she noticed she had an hour to kill before her taxi arrived.

Her doorbell rang so she ran to open it. Danny was stood there looking extremely handsome. He handed her some flowers and smiled at her.

"You look amazing." She blushed slightly.

"Thank you. Have you brought a spare shirt with you tonight as well?" She winked making him laugh.

"I'm not anticipating any accidents tonight so I refrained." She smiled as he led her out to the taxi.

They arrived at the restaurant, one that Clara had never seen before. It was pretty, really pretty. Trees draped above the path and the entrance was slightly hidden by flowers.

"How have I never been here before?" He smiled.

"Most people haven't. It's not well known, but I love it." He opened the door to let her in and then they were led to their table.

They ordered their drinks and ate their meal. Conversation flowed throughout the whole time. Clara could feel herself liking him more and more every second. She hadn't felt like that in years. Danny felt the same. They'd had way too much to drink but the feeling couldn't be mistaken. They got back in the taxi and drove to Clara's house. He got out of the car to see her off but she stopped him.

"Thank you for tonight. I've really enjoyed myself." He smiled and took hold of her hand.

"You're welcome. I've enjoyed myself too. I'd like to do this again?" She nodded.

"Me too." He smiled again and leant slightly closer to her. She did the same. Their lips met softly. After a second they pulled apart and Clara picked up his hand. "Are you coming inside?" She grinned. He smiled back awkwardly.

"I- I won't. Not tonight. I'm sorry. I want to do this properly. I really like you and I don't want anything that may happen later on tonight to spoil that." She nodded and allowed him to kiss her on the cheek.

"Okay, thank you again. I'll see you on Monday." He nodded and headed back into the taxi. Before going inside she stood and watched him leave. She frowned a little. As much as she hated it she didn't quite believe what he had said. Maybe he was genuine and he did really want to make sure their relationship worked. Or did he have something to hide?

Clara arrived at work on Monday with a skip in her step. She felt so good after her date with Danny and, frankly, she couldn't wait to see him again. She walked through the school and checked his classroom. She frowned when his stuff was nowhere to be seen. She looked in the staff room and sighed. After putting her things down she went to make a cup of coffee.

"No Mr Pink today?" She mentioned to one of the other maths teachers.

"No, he rang in sick." Clara smiled and nodded. She couldn't help but worry a touch. She pulled out her phone.

 _'Heard you're not in today. Are you okay?x'_

She messaged him quickly.

Sat on his sofa with the tv playing in the background he received the message. He sighed as he read it. He shouldn't lie to her, he knew that. But something within him wouldn't let the truth be told. He liked her, he really liked her, he couldn't let things get in the way of that.

' _I must have caught a bug, thought it would be best to stay away today. I'm okay, I'll be in tomorrow x'_

He sighed after pressing send. Oh what a mess he had gotten himself into already.

A week passed and the weekend was definitely long awaited. Clara walked into Danny's room and smiled as he lined up all of the tables and chairs.

"Perfectionist." He laughed a little and smiled back at her.

"Nothing wrong with that. Tidy classroom, tidy mind." She laughed. "I like to think it improves student productivity but after being here for a month now, I really don't think it does." She laughed again.

"You're trying. That's more than most." He walked up to her and frowned.

"Who do you mean in particular?" She sighed and shook her head.

"Oh no no don't worry. It's just been a bad day that's all." He nodded.

"Want to talk about it?" She shook her head again.

"I won't bore you with the stresses of being head of English." He smiled.

"Okay, well is there anything I can do to make your day better?" She nodded and grinned at him.

"You can come back to mine, as planned. And let me cook for you?"

"That sounds perfect." He kissed her cheek and they grabbed their things.

Clara drove them back to hers. She slung her bags down on the sofa as Danny followed her into the kitchen.

"Nice place." She smiled.

"Thank you. Cozy I think." He nodded. "Drink?" He nodded again.

"Yes please." She grabbed a bottle of wine to which he laughed a little. "Bit early isn't it?"

"It's five o clock and it's been a long week! Why not?" He shrugged and took his glass.

"Good point. I'll let you off." She grinned. "So what are you cooking?"

"Umm good question." She walked over and looked in the fridge. "Ooo stir fry?" He nodded.

"Sounds good. Want a hand?"

"You may help if you would like to. You can show me your expert cooking skills." He laughed.

"You'll be waiting a while then."

They got on with the cooking and then sat down to eat.

"This is really good." She nodded in agreement.

"It is. I'm proud of us." They both laughed. They continued the evening immersed in chatter. It didn't stop until Danny heard his phone vibrating. He rummaged through his stuff to find it and eventually pulled it out of his pocket. He looked at the screen and his eyes widened.

"I am so sorry, but I need to take this." She smiled and nodded.

"Go for it, it's fine!" He stood up and walked out to the hallway. Clara listened intently. It was none of her business but she couldn't help herself.

"Hi, what's happened?!... Is she alright?!... Umm okay, right... No that's fine... I'll be there as soon as I can." He sighed and walked back into the kitchen.

"What's going on?" He paused. He had to tell her. He had to.

"I really need to go home. I'm so so sorry. This sounds really bad." She frowned but stood up next to him.

"Don't worry about it. What's happened?" He paused again.

"I- I think it might be better done in person." Despite being hugely confused Clara nodded.

"I'll give you a lift." He felt his heart rate rise.

"Oh no you don't have to!" She shook her head.

"It'll be quicker than a taxi and I've had less to drink than you." He sighed and nodded at her.

"Okay, thank you."

She drove him back, they sat in silence the whole way. Danny could feel his heart thumping. This could change everything. He should have told her outright but, for some reason, he never could. Why had he kept it from her? Before he could think anymore, they were at his house. He got out of the car quickly, followed by Clara. She could tell something was wrong, she wasn't going to just leave him. The door was soon opened by a young woman holding a small child. Clara frowned. Danny immediately took the crying child off of the woman and comforted her. He looked at the cut on her head and checked that nothing else was wrong.

"I'm so sorry, she just toppled over and managed to hit her head on the table." Danny shook her head.

"No no don't worry, accidents happen. You get yourself home now. Thank you for tonight." She nodded, grabbed her stuff and left. Clara was stood a few metres from the front door, she hadn't moved since the door originally opened.

"Danny what's going on?" He walked towards her.

"Clara... This is Esme, my daughter." Her eyes widened with shock. "I'm so sorry, I should have told you. I know that. I just- I was worried about what you'd think." Clara said nothing. She didn't know what to say. They'd been together for a month now and he hadn't mentioned the fact that he had a daughter once. She couldn't quite believe her eyes. Esme began to whimper some more so he rocked her softly. He looked back at the cut on her head and sighed. "I think we need to get you to hospital monkey." He looked over to his car and then shook his head. "I can't drive, I've had too much to drink." He cursed under his breath. "Would you be able to take us? I know this is a big ask, and you have every right to say no, but I'm desperate." She thought for a second and then nodded. No matter how she felt, that little girl needed to get to the hospital. She couldn't deny them of that.

They got there quickly and Danny ran to reception immediately.

"Hi, my daughter, she's hit her head." The receptionist nodded and called a doctor. They were seen reasonably quickly. Less than ten minutes after they were led to a side room. Esme was checked over and a few stitches were put in the cut on her head but she was given the all clear, much to Danny's relief. She was allowed home that evening although Danny was on strict instructions to bring her straight back if he noticed anything out of the ordinary.

He emerged from the room with Esme in his arms and sighed a little when he saw Clara still sat where he had left her a couple of hours ago.

"You could have gone home you know?" She shook her head.

"And how were you planning to get home? You don't even have any money on you for a taxi." He shrugged in agreement. "And anyway, I couldn't leave you." He smiled gently. He was glad she had stayed. Really glad. Although he was slightly concerned about where he stood. Had she thought about the situation and forgiven him? Or was it not that simple? "Come on, lets get back." Danny nodded and smiled at Esme sleeping soundly in his arms.

They parked up on his drive and sat in the car for a second, neither of them wanting to speak first.

"Come inside?" She looked at him. "Please? I owe you an explanation, give me the chance to do at least that?" She nodded. Danny laid Esme under a blanket on the sofa and then joined Clara on the sofa opposite.

"Why didn't you tell me Danny?" He sighed.

"I was so scared about what you'd think... I like you, I like you a lot. The way I feel about you right now is a feeling I haven't felt about anyone in ages. I didn't want to spoil that." She didn't say anything for a second. "It's pathetic I know. But I just couldn't bring myself to say it." She sighed.

"Danny she's your daughter. No matter what I would have thought or what I think now you should have told me." He nodded.

"I know. I know that. I'm so sorry." He put his head in his hands. She sat forwards a little.

"How old is she?" He watched her sleeping happily.

"Two and a half. She's my little princess. I don't know what I'd do without her to be honest."

"She's gorgeous." Danny smiled gently. "What happened? To her mum, I mean." Now he looked at her and sat back.

"I made so many mistakes. So many." He paused for a second to reconfigure his words. "I married young, too young really. We met at work, we clicked straight away and it all kinda went from there. We didn't really think it through. It was fair enough us getting on well at work and when we went out but when she moved in with me we realised that we were completely different people. We clashed. We made the mutual decision to separate as it was for the best really. But then Maria found out that she was pregnant with Esme. That obviously changed everything. Things got complicated in terms of deciding what to do when Esme was born and the divorce arrangements. We got on well as a family for the first few months but then it all crumbled. Maria moved out, we filed the divorce and I've not had any contact with her since. I understand her not speaking to me but it shocked me when she wanted nothing to do with Esme either. But there was nothing I could do. And somehow I'm still here now. We've done alright really. It's been tough but we've managed." Clara held his hand gently and sighed. "You're not angry?" She shook her head.

"No. You could have told me though. But I can see why you didn't, you clearly meant well. I forgive you." He smiled at her. "And after all, she's absolutely gorgeous, you should be proud of what you've done for her."

"You, Clara Oswald, make me extremely happy. Thank you for understanding." She smiled.

"How could I not?" They both looked to Esme who was sleeping soundly. They then looked back at each other. Clara leant in slowly and Danny did the same. They kissed gently, giggling in each other's arms.

"Stay here this weekend? Get to know Esme a little better?" She hesitated but then nodded.

"I'd love to." They kissed again.

Clara awoke to an empty bed the next morning. She sat up and then smiled, hearing Danny playing with Esme downstairs. She borrowed his dressing gown and then headed out of the room. Danny looked up as she entered the kitchen.

"Esme look! This is daddy's friend, Clara. Are you going to say hello?" Clara smiled at the little girl grinning up at her and crouched by her side.

"Hello! What have you got there?! That looks good!" Clara motioned towards her breakfast and Esme was more than happy to share. Danny watched them happily as he flicked on the kettle.

Danny began to make dinner that evening, however, Esme had others ideas. She wriggled and cried in his arms. He sighed and put down what he was doing so that he could hold her with two hands.

"Esme, sweetie-" Clara stood up from the kitchen table and took her off of him.

"Should we go and find what we can watch on the tv?!" She smiled a little and relaxed in Clara's arms. Danny smiled and blew a kiss to her as they walked out of the room. Clara switched on the first children's channel she saw and noticed Esme had laid down to watch it. After a while, she moved over to lay on Clara's lap. Soon enough she was asleep. Danny poked his head in and couldn't help but grin at the sight.

"You're stuck there now." He said quietly. She laughed a little.

"I can think of worse things." She smiled down at Esme and then looked back to the tv.

As Danny walked back into the kitchen he noticed how content he felt. For so long things had been difficult, he'd struggled to cope with work and looking after Esme on his own. Since meeting Clara he'd been happier and more relaxed. He still couldn't believe how understanding she had been of his situation. Now that he could see Esme loved her so much it lifted a weight off of his shoulders. Maybe things would turn out okay in the end? Even if things were tough for him, as long as they worked out for Esme he didn't mind at all.

Thank you for reading! I am so sorry for the inconsistent upload days/times, I'm so busy so I'm writing when I can!x


	14. Chapter 14- Happiness in Small Bundles?

**Hiiiiiii**

Happiness comes in small bundles?

The Maldives had been everything they had hoped for and more. Danny had booked the holiday for their anniversary and they'd had the best few weeks. They'd relaxed but had so much fun at the same time. Home time had arrived way too soon.

They packed up and headed to the airport at the end of their last day. They boarded the plane and sat hand in hand.

"Thank you for the best holiday. I love you." He smiled and kissed her.

"I love you too. I really don't want to go home though." Clara nodded in agreement.

"Me neither. Straight from paradise to bed and then to work." He laughed a little.

"Oh the joys. We'll have a nice full inbox to answer too." Clara sighed and shook her head.

"God, don't. Half of them will be from Adrian." Danny laughed.

"And he knows we're away." She nodded.

"He has the memory of a sieve, believe me." They both smiled as Danny kissed her on the head.

They finally arrived home, chucked their bags in their room and got into bed. Clara laid her head on his chest and before she knew it, she was fast asleep. Danny went to speak to her but laughed a little to himself when he noticed. Instead, he kissed her head and settled down to sleep himself.

The alarm the next morning was far from welcome. Somehow they managed to get up and get to work despite having three hours sleep and hellish jet lag. They were welcomed back with open arms, for socialising and also for workload. Clara couldn't help but laugh when she saw her inbox, she really did know Adrian too well. She sat down to start reading them when Jess walked in. Clara smiled widely and stood up to hug her.

"Hey stranger! It's been then longest two weeks without you. I missed you." Clara smiled.

"Bless you. Has it all been okay here?" Jess nodded and moved to sit on one of the front tables.

"Yeah, as okay as it gets anyway." She winked making Clara laugh. "Not nearly as good as your romantic getaway though! You're looking tanned!" "Thank you. It was amazing like so so amazing. We loved it." Jess smiled.

"Go on then, I need details!" Clara laughed. They sat and chatted for a while until Jess looked extremely jealous. "You, Clara Oswald, are a very lucky woman." She smiled.

"I know." As she spoke Danny popped his head in. He smiled at Jess and then turned to Clara.

"Would you like lunch?" She nodded.

"Usual?" He nodded back and blew her a kiss.

"He even buys you food. I need a Danny." Clara laughed.

"You'll find one. I know you will. Speaking of that, how are things with Adrian going?" Jess grinned widely. "Judging by that reaction there's something you need to update me on?" She nodded.

"We got chatting some more anddddd he's asked me out for a meal." Clara squealed a little with excitement and hugged Jess tightly.

"That's so great! It's about time!" Jess laughed.

"I'm happy but I'm so nervous. I really like him. What if I do something stupid?" Clara smiled.

"You won't! You'll be fine, and I guarantee he will be just as nervous as you are. I know you both too well." They smiled.

A week passed by, Clara had jumped straight into working non stop as she always did. She felt okay, aside from being exhausted, but she'd noticed some changes. Nausea, headaches, mood swings. It wasn't until the next morning that she started to worry a little. She woke to Danny kissing her cheek softly. She smiled and turned over. She went to kiss him back but stopped suddenly. She jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. Danny followed her in as he heard her throw up. She sat back a few minutes later.

"Where did that come from?!" Danny said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I don't know, I felt fine a minute ago?" He frowned and felt her head with his hand.

"You don't feel hot or anything. Do you feel okay now?" She shrugged.

"I feel a bit odd but I'll be fine." He went to protest as usual. "I promise. Come on, let's get ready for work." He sighed and nodded before kissing her on the head.

She continued to feel strange for the next week. She just couldn't put her finger on what it was. She'd been eating and drinking enough. She wasn't majorly stressed, no more than usual anyway. It wasn't until later on in the day that she realised that she'd missed her period.

"Oh my god." She said to herself. She sat for a second, stunned at the thought. As much as it terrified her, all the signs were there. She took a deep breath to calm down. As she did, Jess walked in. She frowned and walked towards Clara's desk.

"Are you alright?" Clara nodded unconvincingly. "Clara?" She shook her head.

"I'm fine." Jess frowned again. She knew when something was bothering Clara, she was too easy to read. She'd been okay when she first came back from holiday but had gotten quieter throughout the week. That worried her. It was unlike Clara.

"No, what's wrong? Don't lie to me Miss Oswald." Clara rolled her eyes and sighed at the name. Jess sat on the edge of the desk and crossed her arms. "I'm waiting." Clara hesitated.

"I think I'm... I-" Something stopped her from saying it.

"You're what?" She sighed again.

"Pregnant. I think I'm pregnant." Now Jess's mouth opened wide with shock. She stood up immediately.

"WHAT?! Oh my god." Clara put her hands on her head and started to pace along the classroom.

"What do I do?!"

"Do you know for certain?"

"No, I mean I'm pretty sure, but no."

"What do you mean?" Clara rolled her eyes.

"Well we were on holiday. You know how it is... We-" Jess shook her head and pulled a face of disapproval.

"Not like that, I really don't want to know about that." Clara laughed a little at her reaction. "I mean haven't you got a test yet?" Clara shook her head. "First plan of action then, get you a test." Clara shook her head again.

"But-"

"You can't not find out!" She was right. She needed to know. "Let's go now, we've still got half an hour of lunch."

"But what about Danny?!" Jess grabbed Clara's hand and pulled her towards the classroom door.

"Drop him a text. Say 'just popped out with Jess, love you'." Clara laughed a little. "Well I don't know how you two talk to each other!" They both giggled.

They got in Jess's car and drove to the shops.

"What's made you suspect then?"

"I feel so sick every morning, and I've put on a bit of weight. I missed my period too." Jess smiled a little.

"You're definitely pregnant honey." Clara sighed.

"I don't know what to do, what if Danny doesn't want kids yet?!" Jess shook her head.

"Hold that thought. Let's get the test first." They parked up and ran into the shops. Once they'd bought the test they headed to the toilets.

"Moment of truth." Clara said nervously.

"What ever the outcome, I'm here to support you." They hugged each other and smiled.

Three minutes later Clara handed Jess the test.

"I can't look. You do it." Jess looked at it and then her mouth opened wide. "What is it? What does it say?!"

"Positive." Clara sighed and put her head in her hands.

"This cannot be happening! How am I going to deal with this?!" Jess pulled her into a hug again.

"Look, it's going to be fine. Let's get back to school, lunch is almost over."

Back in the car they had time to chat.

"The big question is, do you want a baby?" Clara thought for a second.

"I don't know? I mean yeah, I want kids. But I didn't expect this to happen so soon." Jess nodded.

"Well, you need to tell Danny. Even if you decide that you're not ready for this right now. He needs to know."

"I know he does. But how do I tell him?"

"Just sorta come out with it? Don't over think it." Clara laughed.

"Oh how I wish I could talk to people as easily as you." Jess laughed back.

"Trust me, that has its downsides. You've seen what I'm like on a night out once I've had a few." She winked making them both laugh again.

They walked back inside and headed for Clara's classroom.

"Anything you need, come and find me." Clara smiled.

"Thank you so much." Jess left to go to her own class. As she did, Danny walked in. Clara cursed under her breath. He came over and sat on the edge of her desk as he always did.

"I couldn't find you, where have you been? We were going to meet for lunch?" She swore under her breath and looked down at her phone briefly to see 10 missed calls from him.

"I'm so sorry, I completely forgot. I had to pop out with Jess." He nodded and then looked at her more closely.

"That's okay... Wait, have you been crying?" Clara sighed and wiped her eyes, momentarily forgetting what a state she had gotten herself into. "What's happened? Are you alright?" Clara nodded but couldn't stop herself from welling up again. He stood up and pulled her slightly closer to him. "What's wrong honey?" She so badly wanted to tell him there and then but it wasn't the time. They needed to have time to discuss things properly and right now, she had a job to do.

"I'm okay. But I need to talk to you." He nodded, holding her hands protectively.

"Now? Or later?" She looked over as she saw students starting to walk to their lessons outside her door.

"Later. It's important." He frowned so she stopped him from asking anymore. "I'll tell you as soon as we're home. I love you."

"Okay, but promise me you're okay for now?" She nodded. "I love you." He kissed her quickly and then went off to his class. She wiped her eyes, took and deep breath and then allowed her class to come in.

Throughout the afternoon she started to feel worse. Normally the nausea went by the time she'd got going in the morning but it had come back. She also felt rather dizzy. Clara being Clara just carried on. Danny came to her class at the end of the day. He helped her tidy away the textbooks that laid on the desks and then put them onto the shelves. He frowned as he walked over to her.

"You don't look too great, are you okay?" She rested her weight on him and took a deep breath.

"I really don't feel good." He nodded and felt her head with the back of his hand.

"You do feel a bit hot. Are you dizzy?" She nodded.

"I feel sick too." He helped her sit down and grabbed their things.

"Okay, let's get you home."

At home, Danny helped her to the sofa and got her a glass of water. Once he'd put their things down he came and sat beside her. He kissed her head and allowed her to lean into him. She could feel her heart beating out of her chest. Now was the time to tell him. What if this was related? She felt nervous but the dizziness was taking over. She sat up and leant forwards.

"Do you feel worse now?" She nodded so he rubbed her back gently. "What about earlier? Was that related to this?" She looked at him. She wanted to tell him but she couldn't focus. Everything was spinning and her head was banging. She held onto his arms and then everything went black. "Clara?! Clara?! Wake up honey! Please!" He held her carefully as he grabbed his phone and called an ambulance.

She was rushed off by the paramedics when they arrived at the hospital. Danny paced up and down the waiting room. His mind was going insane with worry. She'd felt ill all week. Why hadn't he done something about it? He kicked himself.

A while later, Clara woke up slowly. As she became aware of her surroundings, she sat up with a start. One of the nurses ran over and held her back.

"Mrs Pink? Can you hear me?" Clara nodded, breathing heavily. "You're in hospital, you're safe. Lay back down." She did so.

"What happened? Where's Danny?"

"He's in the waiting room, he's okay. Calm down. You lost consciousness and he called an ambulance for you." Her eyes widened.

"How long have I been out?" The nurse looked at the time and then back to Clara.

"A couple of hours. Is it okay for me to check you over?" She took a deep breath and nodded.

"What caused this? Was it to do with the baby?" The nurse finished what she was doing and then smiled reassuringly.

"It looks like your body hasn't coped well with the hormonal changes. Have you had bad morning sickness?" She nodded.

"That would explain it then. From what your husband has said, you've been working hard too, with little food and sleep at that." She sighed a little bit. "I'm not going to give you the 'you need to look after yourself' talk as I get the sense that you know what that entails already. If it's any consolation, I've been in this exact situation before. It's alright to work yourself to the limit when it's just you, but now you've got that little baby too, just take it easy." The nurse winked making Clara smile. "All of your obs look good now. We'll keep you in for the night but you'll be fine to go home in the morning." Clara nodded and went to say thank you but then stopped suddenly.

"Wait, does Danny know about the baby?!"

"No, the doctor was on his way to update him but an emergency came in. As far as I know, no one has told him. I made sure to make him aware that you were okay though. I can bring him in now if you'd like?" Clara sighed in relief.

"Yes please, thank you so much." The nurse smiled and walked out of the room.

Danny almost leaped out of the chair when he saw the door open.

"Is she okay?!"

"She's just come round. I've checked her over and she's absolutely fine. Follow me." He quickly did so.

He ran to her side as soon as he saw her.

"Oh my god, I was so worried." She let a few tears escape as he held her in his arms.

"I'm sorry." He looked at her and shook his head.

"Don't say that, you've got nothing to be sorry about. I'm just glad that you're okay." She kissed him softly. "Did they say what caused it?" She hesitated. She needed to tell him now. She had to. "Clara?" She paused and looked up at him. Tears filling her eyes as she did so. He held her hands and moved slightly closer to her. "Honey? Whatever has happened, I'm here for you. You can tell me." She took a deep breath.

"Earlier, the stuff with Jess-" He nodded.

"You can tell me that too, whatever it is. It's okay." She nodded and sat up a little bit more so that she was level with him.

"I-" She felt the warm tears run down her cheeks. "I'm pregnant Danny." Now she'd told him out loud it felt real. She couldn't quite believe it. By the look on his face, neither could he. It was definitely not what he had expected.

"What?!" She nodded through her tears. "When did you find out?"

"At lunchtime today. Hence why you couldn't find me. I've been feeling odd for the last week or two but it wasn't until today that everything clicked into place. Jess came in and I couldn't hide it, she knew something was up. So we went and got a test. I was going to tell you when we got home but yeah... Now we're here." He took a deep breath and nodded. She started to get worried when he didn't say anything. "What are you thinking?"

"Good question."

"I should have told you straight away. I'm sorry. I panicked and things sort of led to the next." He shook his head and held her hands.

"No. It's okay, I understand. What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I really don't know." She started to cry again so he held her tightly in his arms.

"Whatever you decide, I'll be right here by your side. I love you so much." She looked up and kissed him softly.

"What about you? This is your decision too." He smiled a little. He couldn't help but be happy. Slightly terrified, but happy.

"I would love to have children, you know that. But if you don't feel ready, we don't have to rush into it." She shook her head.

"No. Let's do this." Danny smiled widely.

"Are you sure?" She nodded.

"Danny I love you more than anything. This is our next chapter. I can't wait to do this with you." He kissed her deeply. They both giggled a little as they pulled away. The events of the day seemed to fade slightly as they laid in each others arms.

Clara obviously had the next day off of work. Danny spent the morning with her and then popped in for the afternoon. He arrived back home with an eager visitor. Jess walked in and hugged Clara tightly.

"What are we gonna do with you eh?" Clara smiled a little and sat back down.

"Cuppa?" They both nodded to Danny who smiled and left to give them some space.

"What happened then?" Clara sighed.

"I felt fine at lunch, obviously I was shaken up but I was alright. Then I gradually felt worse and worse until I ended up in hospital. It all kinda unravelled." Jess smiled sympathetically.

"No problems now though?" She shook her head.

"Nope, all clear. I just need to take it easy and look after myself a little better." Jess rolled her eyes.

"And how many years have I been telling you that for?" Clara laughed a little.

"Should have taken your advice."

"Hate to say I told you so." She winked. "Andddd judging by how happy Danny has been, I'm guessing you're keeping the baby?" Clara nodded sheepishly as Jess clapped her hands in excitement. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you. But I'm going to be a mum... How weird does that sound?" Jess giggled.

"Excitingly weird. I can be an unofficial aunty!" Clara laughed.

"You're my number one baby sitter." They continued to chat and laugh together. After all that had happened, it had turned out okay. Just like it always did. None of them could wait for what was to come.

 **:)))**


	15. Chapter 15- New School

**New AU today! Enjoy :))**

New school

She stood in front of her mirror and took a deep breath. After checking her outfit and her hair she grabbed her bag and headed downstairs. She was greeted by her dad who had made her breakfast.

"Thank you dad." He smiled and sat down opposite her.

"It's the least I could do. How are you feeling about your first day?" She sighed.

"Alright, nervous though." Her dad nodded.

"That's understandable. Starting a new school is a big thing, no matter how grown up you are." He winked at her making her smile. "But I have every faith in you, you'll be amazing."

Soon she got ready to leave.

"Are you sure you don't want me to give you a lift?" Clara shook her head.

"No no it's okay. I need the walk I think. I'll let you know how it's going." Her dad nodded.

"Okay, I love you." She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Love you too. See you later." He watched her walk down the path and sighed. It worried him. They'd just moved area, new house, new school, new friends. They thought it was best for a fresh start after mum had died. He just wanted Clara to be happy again. There was so much riding on this day.

She arrived at the gates and headed inside. Once she had found her form room she was taken aside by a teacher.

"Good morning. You must be Clara." She nodded and smiled.

"Hi."

"Would you like to come with me? We'll get you settled in, show you around." She smiled again and followed. They walked around the school and it didn't take long for Clara to remember the way to most of her classes. After all, she was a smart girl.

At break time she sat alone. Lessons weren't what she was scared of, she thrived in academia. It always had been her strong suit. The same could not be said, however, for socialising. Especially with new people. She was minding her own business when two girls came and sat beside her.

"Hi, you must be the new girl right?" Clara put her phone down and nodded nervously. The girl smiled.

"I'm Katy and this is Hannah. Are you in Mrs Thompson's form?" She nodded. "That's the same as us!" Clara smiled. They seem nice, she said to herself.

"What's your name?" Hannah said.

"Clara. Clara Oswald."

"I like that name. It's cute."

"Thank you." Katy and Hannah both smiled.

"So where did you go to school before this?" They soon became immersed in conversation.

English was next. Clara's favourite lesson. It had been her first choice at A level and she was determined to study it at university too. The fact that they studied Pride and Prejudice at her new school made things even better. The rest of the day flew by and she found herself enjoying it. The people she had met so far had been lovely. Her teachers were nice and the subjects she was learning seemed interesting too. She left in high spirits.

The next day she sat at lunch with Katy and Hannah again. As they ate, a group of boys walked past and started to laugh. Katy tolled her eyes.

"Ugh ignore them. They're the ones you don't want to speak to. Everyone else is nice, just not them." Hannah agreed.

"Yeah, apart from Danny. He's nice." Clara nodded.

"Which one is Danny?" Katy looked round to point him out but then smiled widely.

"The one over there who happens to be looking straight at you." Clara blushed a little and smiled back at him. Hannah laughed.

"No way is this your second day and you've already got an admirer." They all giggled.

She didn't see Danny again for the next few days. Friday rolled around and she was exhausted. She grabbed her folders out of her locker and started to walk down the corridor. Without looking where she was going she walked round the corner. Suddenly she bumped straight into someone. After looking up she saw that it was Danny. She started to blush again.

"I'm so sorry." She bent down to pick up her things. He knelt beside her to help.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. You should probably look the right way when you turn a corner though." He joked as they stood back up.

"I know, silly me. Thank you." He smiled.

"No problem. What's your name? You're new this week right?" She nodded.

"It's Clara. And yeah, started on Monday."

"How are you finding it?"

"Good actually. Everyone's really nice." As she finished she heard the familiar laughter from lunch the other day. Danny sighed a little.

"Everyone's nice apart from this clan I have to call my friends." She smiled a little. They walked past him and started to tease immediately. One grabbed him and laughed.

"Chatting up the new girl eh?!" Danny shook his head.

"Piss off James." Another came over and did the same. "Seriously, piss off. I'll catch you up." They laughed and walked on. Danny blushed a little. "Sorry about that... Anyway, I'll see you around?" She nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, definitely." She watched him stroll away. She was somehow intrigued by him. Why was he part of a group of people he seemed to hate? And why was he so nice to her? She needed to find out more.

The next day Clara found herself feeling a lot less relaxed than she had done the previous days. Whilst sat in class she could feel her body tense up and her breathing become irrational. She knew what it was. It had started to happen every so often since mum died. A reaction to an emotional trauma, that's what the doctors called it. Her mind was distracted from the teachers voice until she heard her name.

"Clara? Clara?" She looked up.

"Oh, sorry miss." Her cheeks flushed a shade of red when she heard the boys sniggering next to her.

"Can you please read the next page." The teacher motioned towards the textbook. Clara stared down at it and something within her stopped her from reading it. The words got trapped inside her throat and the letters merged into one big ball in front of her eyes. She felt herself panicking more now. She had to get out. So she got up and ran out of the room, not caring what the teacher was calling after her. She got out into the corridor and realised that she had nowhere to go. No one to speak to. She felt so so alone. How had yesterday been so good and now she felt so bad? Tears fell down her cheeks as she slid down the wall on to the floor.

She tried her best to avoid everyone from her last class at lunch time, although that proved to be impossible. As she walked into the lunch hall she felt their eyes burning into her. What were they all thinking? They were judging for sure. She hated how things had happened but there was nothing she could do now. She scanned the room for Hannah and Katy but sighed when she remembered that they had both gone on a school trip. As subtly as she could, she backed out of the room and headed outside. At least she could get some peace there.

She found a nice spot within the trees where she threw her stuff down and sat on the floor. A few minutes later she heard footsteps coming towards her. She braced herself slightly even though she knew nothing bad would happen. Instinct maybe. The footsteps came around the corner and she sighed with relief once she knew who it was. Danny. He walked over slowly.

"Mind if I join you?" She shrugged but he sat down anyway. She looked down at the floor to hide her tear stained cheeks. "Are you alright?" She nodded. "In English today, what happened?" She said nothing. After a second of silence he sighed and went to stand back up. "Sorry if it seems like I'm being nosy. I just want to make sure you're okay." She still said nothing so he walked away. He got back to the corner and she looked up. After a hesitation she spoke.

"No, stay. Please." He stopped and nodded. He hesitantly sat back down beside her. After a pause she spoke. "Why are you friends with them? That group of guys?" Danny sighed.

"They're alright really." Clara shook her head.

"Don't lie. I can tell you don't like being with them so why do you stick with them?"

"I don't really have a choice. They're nasty when you're on the wrong side of them. So it's easier to stick with them than to move away." She looked up.

"Even if you're not happy? Is it worth that?" He paused.

"I don't know. I guess so. It's not like you can talk about being happy." He joked a little as she looked at him with tear stained cheeks. She nodded and wiped her eyes.

"Yeah, well it's not been a good day."

"Why? What happened?" She shook her head. There was too much to tell him. Especially as she barely knew him.

"I... Um, I've just got things happening at home. It's okay." He nodded.

"You can tell me if you want to. I won't spread it." She looked up at him. She'd struggled so much to speak and open up to people since her mum died. She couldn't even talk to her dad for a while. But she felt oddly comfortable with Danny. Something within her wanted him to know. That was a way she hadn't felt in forever. He smiled a little at her, trying to work out what she was thinking. It began to get a little awkward soon as neither of them spoke. The school bell rang to interrupt the silence. It was only then that Danny said something.

"We should probably get to lesson." She nodded and grabbed her bag. "I won't see you again today, but can I give you my number?" He noticed a hint of panic arise in her eyes. A toned down version of what had happened earlier in the day. "Nothing weird or anything. Just so that you can text me if you need, I mean if you wanna talk. But no pressure, only if you want to." She hesitated but eventually nodded.

"Thank you." He took her phone off of her as she passed it over and quickly typed it in. He smiled at her and slung his bag on his back.

"No problem. I'll see you tomorrow?" She nodded and smiled back. She watched him jog off to class with a small smile on her face. He made her feel so safe. She couldn't explain why or how, he just did.

The next day, she strolled home alone as she had been doing for the last two weeks. It was around a half an hour walk, which she was sometimes quite grateful for. She'd grab a lift from her dad in the mornings but she didn't mind the afternoons. She went to turn the corner onto the next road when she got a text. She looked to see that it was from Danny.

 _Turn around x_

She frowned and did so. Behind her was Danny looking rather out of breath. She laughed and put her phone back in her pocket.

"What are you doing?" He stopped and laughed a little.

"I saw you ahead of me and was going to walk with you, but Jesus you walk fast." She giggled at how tired he was.

"So, instead, you thought you'd randomly text me whilst I'm walking in the middle of nowhere and ask me to turn around? Not odd at all." She winked and laughed.

"Okay okay maybe I didn't think it through. But hey, it worked didn't it." She nodded and they started to walk together.

"Where do you live anyway? I didn't know anyone walked this way."

"Just the other side of the woods." She looked at him.

"Me too!" He smiled.

"You moved in recently right?" She nodded.

"Yeah, about a month ago. Then I had to wait a couple of weeks to start school."

"Where did you use to live?"

"In London, so this is quite a change. It's much quieter." He laughed.

"More sheep too. Great fun walking to school in snow up to your thighs too." She giggled.

"I'll look forward to that."

"How come you moved then?" Now it went quiet. "Sorry, should I not have asked that?" She sighed and shook her head.

"No, no it's okay... My mum died five months ago, five months today actually. Cancer. Dad thought it would be nice to have a fresh start." He sighed.

"I'm so sorry. I don't want to intrude, but I'm guessing that's linked to what happened today?" She nodded but could feel herself getting upset. He noticed too. "I won't ask you anymore, I'm sorry." She shook her head.

"Honestly, it's okay. Things are still kinda fresh, I think it's gonna be a while before I can talk about it without getting upset." He nodded in agreement. Part of him wanted to ask more to find out if she was okay but he also didn't want to seem nosey. It wasn't his place to.

"That's understandable. But as I said, you can talk to me about it any time." She blushed a little as he smiled at her. Before she could say anything, he slowed down. "This is my turn off." She smiled and nodded.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." He nodded and began to walk away, that was until she called him, making him turn around.

"Danny, thank you. Thank you so much." He just smiled and then continued to walk away.

That evening Clara couldn't stop thinking about him. He'd been so nice. But why? They'd only just met and his friends clearly wouldn't approve of it. Why was he going out of his way to be kind? She was appreciative of course, but she wanted to know more. She didn't realise that her train of thought had left the dinner table when her she heard her dad calling her name.

"Clara? Clara? Earth to Clara?" She suddenly looked at him and shook her head.

"Sorry. I was miles away." He laughed a little.

"I can see that. What's on your mind?" She sighed a little.

"Just school stuff." Her dad nodded.

"Wanna talk about it?" She hesitated but then nodded back.

"Don't freak out about this but... there's this boy. Called Danny." As expected his eyes widened.

"A boy?" Clara nodded.

"It's not like that don't worry. He's just been really nice to me, I think he really cares." Now her dad nodded back.

"How do you know that? Has something happened?" She took a deep breath. She had to tell him about what happened in lesson. They'd promised to tell each other everything after mum. She couldn't break that.

"Yesterday, in class. I couldn't stop thinking about mum, I don't know why. The teacher tried to make me read to the class and I just couldn't do it. I could feel a panic attack happening so I ran out of the room. There was no one I could turn to. But at lunch, Danny saw me and came to sit with me. He was nice, really caring. I don't really know why though." Dave smiled sympathetically and took her hand.

"Oh honey. Did the teachers say anything?"

"They tried to make me explain everything to them but I chose not to. The head teacher knows anyway so I didn't want to have to say it all again." Dave nodded.

"Was this Danny in the classroom then?" She nodded.

"Yeah. We walked home together today and he gave me his number." Dave smiled at her. Clara frowned. "What?"

"You know what." She suddenly shook her head as the penny dropped.

"No no it's not like that!" Dave laughed.

"Oooo you're blushing!" She giggled and hit his arm playfully.

"Dadddd!" He shook his head.

"I'm joking, I'm sorry. Seriously though, he sounds like a nice lad. But be careful, I don't want to see you getting hurt anymore than you have been already." She smiled and nodded.

At lunch she sat with Hannah and Katy. They were talking about the trip they'd been on, or were they? Clara had lost track, she wasn't really listening. She was distracted from her daydream when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She smiled a little when Danny's name came up on the screen.

 _Have you got a free lesson this afternoon?x_

She looked up to see him smiling at her from across the room. She smiled back and then quickly sent a reply.

 _Yes, why?x_

 _Meet me outside, same place as before x_

She smiled at him again. What she hadn't noticed was that Katy and Hannah were watching her intently.

"Umm what is this?!" Clara suddenly stopped looking at Danny and turned to face them.

"Is this what I think it is! Danny?! When did that happen?!" She looked at them, a little speechless.

"Oh my gosh you're blushing, you like him don't you!" They turned and faced Danny who looked back with embarrassment.

"Guys stop! It's nothing too serious." Hannah laughed.

"Nothing too serious? Right, spill!" Clara smiled a little.

"The other day things went a bit wrong, I got upset etcetera. I'm fine now but yeah... Danny was really nice about it. And we live really close to each other too so we've been walking together. I just... I just really like him." Both girls smiled widely at Clara.

"You are too cute. So what did he message you?"

"We're gonna meet this afternoon in our free." Katy grinned and clapped her hands excitedly.

"This is the best thing." She giggled and looked round at Danny who blushed slightly. Clara hit her arm.

"Stop it. You're embarrassing him." They all laughed.

She met him outside as planned.

"Hey." She smiled.

"Hey, okay?" She nodded and they sat down together.

"Did you need to talk about something in particular?" He shook his head.

"No no, I just wanted to see you. We don't get time to talk other than to and from school." She nodded in agreement. "What was that happening at lunch then?" She laughed a little.

"Katy and Hannah are on to us."

"Ah I thought so. They looked quite excited, does that mean they approve?" She smiled and nodded.

"Yep, they like you very much. Just not sure about your friends..." He sighed.

"Fair enough, I'm not sure about them either. I'd rather not be with them but there's not much I can do."

"What about the group of guys you sit with in maths? You get on with them, right?" He nodded.

"Yeah, sure I do. But distancing yourself from this group is tough, I don't know how they'd take it." She nodded.

"What about it scares you?" He looked at her and hesitated.

"I don't want any trouble from it. I'm... Let's just say I'm not good with conflict so if I can avoid it, I will."

"But as I said the other day, surely it's better to be happy?" He paused again.

"Okay when you put it like that it's obvious that I need to do something. But I think it's a hurdle for another day." She nodded.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can. Fire away." She paused to gather her words.

"Why are you being so nice to me? I mean, we've known each other for less than a month and I'd basically confided in you, that's so unlike me. It takes time for me to trust, but I did with you straight away." He sighed a little.

"This is so embarrassing to say out loud, but I like you. I really like you. As soon as I saw you I could tell there was something going on, something behind the scenes. When you broke down in class the other day I had to help you. I don't know why I feel like this, I've never felt like it before, but I know that it's a good feeling. I care about you." She blushed a little, not really knowing what to say. It then went silent as they looked at each other. Clara had an inkling of what he was about to do. The thought of it was making her panic slightly. He leant towards her and kissed her softly. She returned the kiss but soon pulled away and shook her head. Tears built in her eyes. He leant back, a look of worry on his face.

"What's wrong?" She shook her head again.

"I'm so sorry Danny." She grabbed her bag and ran off. He watched her go. Had he done something wrong? Had he moved too fast? He kicked himself.

She left the school quickly after her last lesson, not wanting to have to see Danny. Not because she didn't want to be with him but because she was angry at herself for earlier. She knew she'd messed up. She got half way home without him but soon enough he caught up with her.

"Clara!" She kept walking, tears building in her eyes again. "Clara please! Can we talk?" She hesitated but then slowed down. He managed to run in front of her to stop her walking completely. "I am so sorry. It was stupid, I didn't think. Please forgive me?" She sighed, now letting her tears fall.

"I'm not angry at you Danny. I promise." He placed his hand on her arm.

"Then what's wrong? Let me help you. Please." After a deep breath she spoke. More came out than she expected.

"I'm so angry at myself. I mess everything up. Since mum died my whole life has been a mess, my dad had tried to keep things together as much as he can but I can tell he's hurting. He doesn't tell me how he feels because he doesn't want to 'burden' me. It was all okay until this stupid anxiety came and it won't go away. I like you Danny, I really do but earlier I just couldn't stay there. I had to leave. Now I've upset you too, this keeps happening and it all needs to stop." When she finished speaking she realised that she was actually crying an awful lot. He looked at her and, without saying anything, held her tightly in his arms.

"You've not upset me, don't worry about that. You're so strong. You've been through so much yet you've managed to move to a new area, start a new school, make loads of friends and keep up with your schoolwork. It might not seem like it to you but you've achieved so much already, things can only get better. I'm gonna make sure they get better." She looked him in the eyes and smiled a little.

"You're too kind to me, do you realise that? You don't need to do this. You don't need to get involved. It's my problem, not yours so it shouldn't have to be yours to deal with." He shook his head.

"It's both of our problem if I want to help you. And I do. So I'm going to." She sighed and hugged him again.

"Thank you. I mean that more than anything." He smiled back at her, they grabbed each other's hands and continued to walk home.

Clara laid in bed that night feeling oddly content. So much had happened and she felt happy for the first time in ages. Danny truly cared, she still couldn't quite understand why, but that didn't matter. He cared and was always going to be there. That gave her immense comfort. Maybe this new life wasn't going to be too bad after all?

 **:))))**


End file.
